Last Updated on July 23, 2022
Prominent Texas Conservative leaders have slammed GOP legislators over a weak and quiet stance against gay marriage after 47 House Republicans voted to codify same-sex marriage earlier this week.
Despite 157 GOP state representatives voting against the House’s bill to codify same-sex marriage into federal law, few GOP members have loudly spoken out against gay marriage. While plenty of Republicans are willing to vote against the codification of same-sex marriage, few have released hard stances against the issue of gay marriage itself.
For same-sex marriage to be codified, 10 GOP senators must vote with the Democrats, should the bill be presented in the Senate.
On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) suggested he would bring the bill to the floor, adding he was “really impressed” by the 47 House Republicans who voted in support of the bill.
“I want to bring this bill to the floor, and we’re working to get the necessary Senate Republican support to ensure it would pass,” Schumer added.
With pressure mounting on the GOP Senators, the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, Matt Rinaldi, called on the GOP to vote against the same-sex marriage bill but also take steps to fix the recent “societal decline” in America.
Speaking exclusively with National File, Rinaldi recalled just how quickly the Republican party’s stance on gay marriage has shifted. “47 Congressional Republicans voted affirmatively to redefine marriage in a way that even Democrats opposed just a decade ago,” the party chairman noted.
Rinaldi went on to say that Republicans who are unwilling to “undo the societal decline that led us to child drag shows, mutilating children, marginalizing men and erasing women, then they have no reason to be in office.”
“The GOP needs to restore America by promoting strong families, a return to education and traditional values. Otherwise, it has no reason to exist,” he added.
Texas U.S. Senator John Cornyn has expressed intentions to vote against the bill if it’s brought to the Senate floor. However, the Senator wrote off the bill as just a diversion of attention away from inflation. Few GOP Senators have publicized any comments disavowing gay marriage, shying away from the hard stance that differentiated Republicans and Democrats for years.
In 2012, during his failed presidential campaign, Mitt Romney traversed the country boldly speaking out against gay marriage. Romney contested that traditional marriage and “the establishment of homes with a father and mother” would help American society and that same-sex marriage was inappropriate and not needed for a strong society.
Now, this week, 10 years later, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) told The Hill that he recognizes legal gay marriage “is what the law is and I don’t see the law changing,” therefore he would not consider voting in favor of the bill, simply saying it’s not necessary without suggesting gay marriage was anything worth defeating.
A multitude of GOP senators have masked their opinion on the social issue completely all claiming they would need to read the bill first. These senators refused to take an explicit stance for or against homosexuality: Richard Burr (R-NC), Rick Scott (R-FL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Rand Paul (R-KY), Cynthia Lummis (R-WI), John Thune (R-SD), Todd Young (R-IN), Pat Toomey (R-PA).
Even the Republican Senate Majority Leader also refused to comment publicly on the issue of gay marriage. “I’m gonna delay announcing anything on that issue until we see what the majority leader wants to put on the floor,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
With five GOP senators already vocalizing their intentions to vote “yes” on the same-sex marriage bill, all eyes are on the GOP senators who have yet to comment on, or dodged questions about the issues with weak, enthusiastic answers.
The Republican party could be following a trend similar to the Democrat Party. Just over a decade ago, in 2008, Joe Biden and Barack Obama, members of good standing amongst Democrats, were emphatically against gay marriage.
Joe Biden in 2008 on if he supports gay marriage: “No. Barack Obama, nor I, support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that” pic.twitter.com/joydfVFSRg
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) June 15, 2020
Up until Donald Trump in 2016, the Republican Party had never nominated a pro-gay-marriage presidential candidate.
Now, the Democrats unanimously support same-sex marriage and Republicans are shifting Left with the Democrats or plenty are refusing to draw a line and state their opinion.
Stay tuned to National File for any updates.
