US Senate likely to delay bill on gay marriage until September
- Proponents of the bill worry that waiting could cause support to dwindle as opponents ramp up pressure on fellow Republicans to oppose it
- The bill passed the House of Representatives last month by a vote of 267-157 with 47 Republicans in support
The US Senate is likely to delay a vote on protecting gay marriage until September, as Democrats push forward with a US$430 billion climate change and drug pricing bill, which could cost them Republican support for the marriage measure, aides and advocates said on Monday.
Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin, the chamber’s first openly gay member who has been working to shepherd the Respect for Marriage Act forward, now expects the bill to come to the floor after politicians return from a weeks-long August recess.
Proponents of the bill worry that waiting could cause support to dwindle as opponents ramp up pressure on fellow Republicans to oppose it, according to a source familiar with the Senate negotiations. The bill’s backers plan to use the recess to consider adjusting some of its language to lure more Republican support.
With the Senate split 50-50, and Democrats in charge thanks to Vice-President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote, the legislation would need support from at least 10 Republicans to succeed.
Gay marriage was once a hot-button issue in America’s culture wars that Republicans vehemently opposed.
But with the public now solidly behind gay marriage and the control of Congress in play in the November 8 midterm elections, Senate Republicans have shown signs of backing the legislation.
The bill passed the House of Representatives last month by a vote of 267-157 with 47 Republicans in support.