What is the Respect for Marriage Act, Why is it Important, and Who Voted Against it?

12.3.2023

The Respect for Marriage Act passed in the Senate last week after a bipartisan vote. It now moves on to the House for a vote. If passed at the House level, it will end up on President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

What is the Respect for Marriage Act?

It is an act that enshrines same-sex marriages and interracial marriages into law—protecting them federally in the event that Obergefell v. Hodges (which guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry) or Loving v. Virginia (which guarantees interracial couples the right to marry) were overturned.

The Respect for Marriage Act would ensure these unions remained recognized at both the state and federal level, as long as the marriages were legal in the states in which they took place.

These Senators voted against the Respect for Marriage Act:

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) 

Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) 

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) 

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) 

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) 

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) 

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) 

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) 

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) 

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) 

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) 

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) 

Sen. BIll Hagerty (R-Tenn.) 

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) 

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) 

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) 

Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) 

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) 

Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) 

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) 

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) 

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) 

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) 

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) 

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) 

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) 

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) 

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla/) 

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) 

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) 

Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala/) 

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.)

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) 

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.)