Senate Rejects Religious Freedom Protections, Approves ‘Respect for Marriage Act;’ Biden to Sign
A bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate approved the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday after rejecting on close votes a trio of detailed amendments that sponsors claimed were required to protect the right of religious freedom of practice and expression.
On a count of 61 to 36, the majority—including 49 Democrats and 12 Republicans—adopted a measure approved by the House of Representatives in July and that President Joe Biden has promised to sign. The House still must OK the Senate’s minor revisions of the original proposal.
The vote on the controversial proposal capped a series of procedural hurdles requiring at least 60 votes that proponents overcame with support from the chamber’s 50 Democrats and the dozen Republicans who supported final passage….