U.S. Senate to delay vote on same-sex marriage protections until after Nov. elections
Global News
The move came after weeks of talks between a small group of Democratic and Republican senators, who said they need time to work on the bill and gather support.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Thursday decided to put off until after the Nov. 8 congressional elections any vote on legislation protecting same-sex marriage, dashing the hopes of advocates who sought prompt action on a bill already passed by the House of Representatives.
The move came after weeks of closed-door talks between a small group of Democratic and Republican senators who looked at ways to amend the House bill in order to attract at least 10 Republican supporters who would join 48 Democrats and two independents.
The U.S. Census Bureau in 2019 estimated that there were 543,000 same-sex married couple households and 469,000 households with same-sex unmarried partners living together.
Senators leading the negotiations issued a statement saying that they needed additional time to work on the bill. “We are confident that when our legislation comes to the Senate floor for a vote, we will have the bipartisan support to pass the bill,” said Democratic Senators Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema and Republicans Susan Collins, Rob Portman and Thom Tillis.
Earlier, Baldwin told reporters that a bill will be put to a vote following the elections, a timeframe not mentioned in the statement.
The gamble is that following the midterm elections Republican senators will feel freer to back the legislation at a time when voter backlash would be two years away with the next elections.
“If they think that improves their chances of passage, that’s their prerogative,” Republican Senator John Cornyn told reporters, adding that he would vote against a bill codifying same-sex marriage into law.
Failure to win enough Republican support in the Senate for a bill that passed the House in mid-July with the backing of 47 Republicans was a disappointment to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had hoped to set up a first procedural vote on the legislation on Monday.
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