After passing the House of Representatives for a final time, the Respect for Marriage Act is on its way to be signed by President Biden. Despite the one-ply paper-thin protections for LGBTQ+ and interracial couples and the lower estimates put LGBTQ+ marriage at 70% approval, a bunch of Republicans are taking its passing as a sign of hell on Earth and a personal attack on their belief that certain unions and people should be treated as second class citizens. A congress member from Missouri’s 4th District, Vicky Hartzler, literally tried to cry as she got her peace in.
While I’d never heard of Representative Hartzler before seeing her performance, this is actually her whole personality. Since at least 2004 (when the public support sat at about 42%), Hartzler has pushed for further discrimination of same-sex couples and has written disinformation on transpeople in The Hill. Hartzler isn’t the only Republican loudly (and incorrectly) insisting that this bill infringes on her religious liberty. A handful of very influential organizations, like the Heritage Foundation and many others, are promoting this claim. Not only does this not do that, but 25% of the short bill is dedicated to allowing religious organizations to discriminate against these couples and keep tax benefits still.
This kind of grandstanding —similar to Aragorn at The Black Gate—I was expecting to see from one-term House member Madison Cawthorn. However, since losing his primary, Cawthorn closed his office in DC two months before his term ended and hasn’t been in town to do his job (even badly) much since. Regardless of what she and the other 200-ish Republicans (between the House and Senate) that voted against the Respect For Marriage Act want, all that’s left is for President Biden to sign the bill. Because the current Congress goes on recess on December 14, and January will begin with Republicans holding a slim majority in the House of Representatives, Biden will likely sign the document early this week.
(featured image: Kat J on Unsplash)
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