These 12 Republican Senators Voted to Advance Respect for Marriage Act

Twelve Republican senators voted alongside Democrats to advance the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify same-sex and interracial unions across the U.S. amid concerns the Supreme Court could overturn past rulings favoring marriage equality.

The Senate voted 61-35 to avoid a filibuster on the bill, which now contains an amendment aimed at preserving religious freedom. The tally brings the bill one step closer to a formal vote in the Senate, then becoming law.

The bill received rare bipartisan support on an issue that was previously more split along party lines. But polls in recent years indicated an uptick in support for marriage equality, including among Republicans. If the bill passes later this week, it would be seen as a massive win for the LGBTQ community in a year otherwise defined by concerns of rising anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

The Senate will reconvene on Tuesday, and lawmakers will vote on amendments from Republican Senators Mike Lee, James Lankford and Marco Rubio—none of whom voted to advance the bill Monday. The Senate is also slated for a final vote on the bill, which will need to clear the 60-vote threshold to pass.

It would then return to the House of Representatives, which passed the bill without the religious freedom amendment in July. If it again passes the House, it would go to President Joe Biden's desk. This month, Biden pledged to "promptly" sign the bill into law.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, praised members of both major parties coming together to pass the Respect for Marriage Act.

"Both sides are continuing working together on an agreement to move this bill quickly through the chamber," he said. "I hope we can get it done with all due speed because millions of Americans deserve equal justice under the law and peace of mind knowing their right to marry the person they love is protected."

He also said that it would have "strained all of our imaginations" a decade ago to predict a marriage equality bill could pass the Senate.

Calls for legislation legalizing same-sex and interracial marriage emerged after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that guaranteed federal abortion rights. Justice Clarence Thomas, in his opinion, suggested the court could also overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage across the U.S.

He didn't mention the case that made interracial marriage legal, Loving v. Virginia, but Obergefell used the case as its legal basis, sparking concerns it could also be at risk of being overturned.

Supporters of the Respect for Marriage Act argue it would protect important civil rights for the LGBTQ community as well as people of color across the United States. Republicans who oppose the bill argue it would encroach on religious freedoms.

Even as most Republican senators voted against the bill, it still received enough bipartisan support to pass through key Senate procedures.

"The Respect for Marriage Act is a needed step to provide millions of loving couples in same-sex and interracial marriages the certainty that they will continue to enjoy the freedoms, rights and responsibilities afforded to all other marriages," Senator Susan Collins, a centrist Maine Republican, said this month.

These 12 Republicans voted in support of the Respect for Marriage Act:

1. Roy Blunt, MO
2. Richard Burr, NC
3. Shelley Moore Capito, WV
4. Susan Collins, ME
5. Joni Ernst, IA
6. Cynthia Lummis, WY
7. Lisa Murkowski, AK
8. Rob Portman, OH
9. Mitt Romney, UT
10. Dan Sullivan, AK
11. Thom Tillis, NC
12. Todd Young, IN