Respect For Marriage Act: 1 Wisconsin House Republican Voted In Favor

WISCONSIN — One U.S. House Republican from Wisconsin crossed the aisle Tuesday alongside 46 other members of his party to protect interracial and same-sex marriage, a measure that Democrats called necessary after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, ending half a century of constitutional protections for abortion.

The June decision reversing Roe, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, was one of a few times in history that the Supreme Court invalidated an earlier decision declaring a constitutional right.

The decision sparked fear beyond just abortion and privacy rights, including for other landmark cases such as the 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage. In his concurring opinion on Dobbs, Justice Clarence Thomas argued if the Constitution's Due Process Clause does not afford the right to an abortion, it doesn't guarantee other substantive rights, either.

Passed by the House Tuesday, the Respect for Marriage Act is a push from Democrats to codify rights that were once considered settled law, but are now vulnerable with a firmly conservative Supreme Court. A little over 20 percent of the GOP caucus supported the measure, including one member from Wisconsin.

Wisconsin's Republican Rep. Bryan Steil voted for the measure, against much of how his party voted, and the opposite of how every other Republican U.S. House member from Wisconsin voted. Every Democratic U.S. House member from the Badger State voted for the bill.

Here's how each of Wisconsin's representatives voted:

• Republican Scott Fitzgerald: Nay.
• Republican Mike Gallagher: Nay.
• Republican Glenn Grothman: Nay.
• Democrat Ron Kind: Yea.
• Democrat Gwen Moore: Yea.
• Democrat Mark Pocan: Yea.
• Republican Bryan Steil: Yea.
• Republican Tom Tiffany: Nay.

A vote passed the bill 267-157 on roll call, seemingly signaling that at least some fraction of the Republican party accepts the Supreme Court's previous decisions that constitutionally protected same-sex marriage. That, or Republicans recognize personal freedoms are on the ballot in November's midterm elections.

Notably, both House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elsie Stefanik of New York and National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Tom Emmer of Minnesota voted with the Democrats.

A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate. Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin were joined by Sen. Susan Collins in sponsoring the Senate version of the Respect for Marriage Act.

Wisconsin Republicans were largely mum on the topic toward the public after Tuesday's vote, including Steil. Democratic Gwen Moore, who represents parts of the Milwaukee area, announced her vote via Twitter.

"Instead of protecting human rights and individual freedom, this rabidly partisan Supreme Court wants to tell you who you can marry," Moore wrote, saying she voted so everyone has the freedom to marry who they love.

Notably, the legislation codifying the rights to same-sex and interracial marriage repeals the 1990s-era Defense of Marriage Act. The Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in two cases, Windsor v. United States, and the Obergefell v. Hodges decision protecting same-sex marriage.

The Defense of Marriage Act allowed states to refuse to recognize valid civil marriages of same-sex couples. That legislation also exempted same-sex couples, regardless of their marital status, from federal statutes, regulations and rulings that apply to other married people, denying them more than 1,100 federal benefits.

The House Democratic caucus voted unanimously in support of the Respect for Marriage Act.