Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has finally given an update regarding the upcoming vote on same-sex marriage.
Back in June, the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalised abortion nationwide.
Alongside the court’s dangerous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Thomas wrote that the Supreme Court should “reconsider” various landmark decisions such as the right to contraception, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage.
In response to Thomas’ harmful suggestion, Democrats and 47 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted in favour of the Respect for Marriage Act.
Under the inclusive bill, which passed on 19 July with a 267 to 157 vote, same-sex marriage would be codified, and gay couples would be granted an array of federal protections.
The legislation would also formally repeal the Defense of Marriage Act – which deemed marriage as a union between a man and a woman back in 1996.
Even though the bill passed in the House, its future is uncertain in the Senate due to the upper chamber’s 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans.
Under the current filibuster rules, 60 votes are required to pass the legislation.
With the Senate back in session after its August recess, LGBTQ+ activists have been eager to find out when the legislation would reach the floor.
Fortunately on 6 September, Schumer revealed that the vote would take place “in the coming weeks.”
“Let me be clear a vote will happen – a vote on marriage equality will happen on the Senate floor in the coming weeks, and I hope there will be 10 Republicans to support it,” he said during a news conference (per CNN).
“Our two leading members on this issue, Sen. [Tammy] Baldwin and [Kyrsten] Sinema are working with Republicans to see if there are enough votes to pass the bill.”
According to HuffPost, Susan Collins, Rob Portman, Lisa Murkowski, and Thom Tillis are the only Republican senators to showcase support for the LGBTQ+ inclusive legislation.
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