WASHINGTON – The South Florida congressional delegation does not agree on many issues, but they all voted for the Respect the Marriage act in the House on Tuesday night.
All eight members of the delegation voted yes for H.R. 8404.
Republican Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez and María Elvira Salazar joined Democratic Representatives Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Ted Deutch, Frederica Wilson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Lois Frankel in voting for the measure.
“It’s clear that the Supreme Court has a put a target on the rights of everyday Americans because of their gender, and possibly soon because of their sexual orientation or other aspects of their identity,” said Wilson. “We cannot sit idly by as this radical court erodes our freedoms.”
The bill, which passed the House by a 267 to 157 vote, safeguards the right to same-sex marriage nationwide and includes protections for interracial marriages.
“I appreciate what they’ve done but I’m always cautious of the support they give because it’s not always 100 percent provided,” said Orlando Gonzales, Executive Director of SAVE.
Todd Delmay is a Democrat running for the Florida State House. He sued the state of Florida for the right to marry. He and his husband were one of the first people to be married to a same sex partner in Florida in 2015.
“To me the Respect for Marriage Act really is just going to create other fights where that a state like Florida could say we were absolutely not going to allow same-sex couples to marry because that’s our law. And then being forced to recognize marriages from other states, because of the Respect for Marriage Act, that could set up a fight again where they could go back and try and overturn it,” said Delmay.
The bill next heads to the Senate where at least 10 Republicans would need to join with Democrats to overcome the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio confirming to CNN Capitol Hill Reporter Manu Raju that he will vote no on the measure.
Marco Rubio told me that he is a NO on House’s same-sex marriage bill, calling it a “stupid waste of time”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 20, 2022
It’s not clear how Sen. Rick Scott stands on the measure.
“I do not think senator Rubio or Scott will do anything to protect marriage for same sex couples. You cannot rely on them in any way, you can usually rely on the opposite,” said Gonzales.
House Democrats are acting in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s bombshell opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, which has set off a debate over whether other precedents are now in danger.