WASHINGTON (BP and local reports) — The U.S. Senate voted to enshrine same sex marriage as federal law Nov. 29, while also rejecting efforts to strengthen religious freedom protections in the final bill.
With 12 Republicans joining all Democrats present, the Senate voted 61-36 for the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) after defeating three GOP-offered amendments intended to heighten safeguards for religious liberty.
Mississippi’s senators, Republicans Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, voted against the act in its final form.
By passing the bill, senators voted to repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and to require national recognition of any same sex marriage considered legal in the jurisdiction where it took place.
Under DOMA, the federal government was required to define marriage as only between a man and a woman, and the right of a state not to recognize a same sex marriage that occurred in another jurisdiction was mandated.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved RMA in July, when 47 GOP members joined all Democrats in a 267-157 vote.
Mississippi’s sole vote in the House in favor of the act came from Democrat Congressman Bennie Thompson of the Second District, while the state’s three Republican representatives – Trent Kelly of District One, Michael Guest of District Three, and Michael Palazzo of District Four – voted against it.
The Senate version of the bill does include a provision that nothing in the bill “shall be construed to diminish or abrogate a religious liberty or conscience protection” available to a person or organization under the U.S. Constitution or federal law.
The Senate version also provides that nonprofit organizations, including churches, will not be required to provide services for a wedding or its celebration and states the RMA does not “require or authorize” federal recognition of polygamous marriages.
Because the Senate added provisions to the bill, it must now go back to House for concurrence before being sent to U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, who has endorsed the bill and plans to sign it into law.
Kenny Digby, executive director-treasurer of the Mississippi Baptist Christian Action Commission, condemned the bill.
“The ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ is problematic for four reasons. Marriage is the oldest and foundational institution that Jehovah God set forth in the Bible,” he said. “The content of this legislation shows total disrespect for anyone who has a Bible World View.
“I understand there are issues we must tolerate, but the liberal leadership of our nation is forcing us to condone their viewpoint. So much for toleration being a two-way street. Freedom of religion will be damaged and curtailed by this bill. No ‘Christian’ can support this bill.
“The second issue is the name of the bill — an out-and-out lie put forth by a bunch of anti-God politicians. The third issue is the ‘RINO’ Republicans who crossed over to support this bill. They may be from ‘purple’ states, but they are ‘yellow.’ They might as well be liberal.
“The crossover vote is what necessitated the attempt to amend the bill, but the liberals would have no part in trying to protect our religious liberty that this bill will damage.
“I appreciate our two senators, Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, and our three conservative representatives, Trent Kelly, Michael Guest, and Steven Palazzo, standing firm against this legislation.
“Finally, this legislation is being pushed through by leadership with a slim majority in both bodies. This narrow majority in the House is lame duck. This is the real threat to ‘democracy’ – ignoring the results of November 8. More Christians must stand up and speak up, or our whole nation will be lame duck,” Digby said.
The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) in Nashville also expressed dismay after the bill gained Senate approval.
“Regardless of how any law, any government institution or our culture treats marriage, Southern Baptists remain anchored in the truth that God has defined marriage as a covenant union between one man and one woman for life,” ERLC Policy Manager Hannah Daniel told Baptist Press. “This purposeful design is for our good and our flourishing.
“In the lead-up to this vote, we expressed our opposition to the bill to senators, and, now that it moves back to the House, we will continue doing so,” she said.
Messengers to both the Southern Baptist Convention and Mississippi Baptist Convention annual meetings have for many years affirmed multiple resolutions stating that marriage is a one-man/one-woman union.
