CV NEWS FEED // Ninety-three Catholic Members in the House of Representatives on Tuesday voted in favor of the so-called Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify same-sex “marriage” into federal law – including Catholics in both parties.
The 47 Republican Members of the House of Representatives who voted with Democrats in favor of the legislation are facing blowback from conservative voters. The 89 Catholics who voted “yes” were bound to provoke a similar pushback from Catholic voters.
Tuesday’s vote came amid Democratic concerns that the conservative majority on the Supreme Court could one day strike down Obergefell vs. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that imposed “gay marriage” on all 50 states. When Roe vs. Wade was struck down on June 24, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that the Court should revisit the Obergefell decision, among others, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, has since stated that the ruling was “clearly wrong.”
The Catholic Church would certainly agree with Cruz’s assessment. Catholic teaching is clear that marriage is an institution meant for one man and one woman and ordered to the procreation and raising up of children.
CatholicVote Communications Director Joshua Mercer on Wednesday pointed out that many opponents of the correct understanding of marriage tried to make a case for this bill by arguing that it secured “equality” between “straight” and “gay” couples. “A male-female coupling is the only one that produces new human life,” said Mercer. “It’s unjust to try to create ‘equality’ between that coupling, which is true marriage, and any other kind of arrangement.”
“And this isn’t only some private religious revelation,” Mercer added. “Our Catechism calls marriage and family the primary cell of all human society, and it grounds that insight in natural law, which has been recognized in virtually every civilization since time immemorial.”
Tom McClusky, CatholicVote’s director of government affairs, agreed. “But when it comes to these Congressmen and women, their Catholic does mean something,” he added:
After all, this isn’t 2015. Gay “marriage” has been imposed on this country since Obergefell – that’s seven years. And it’s turned out to be everything its opponents – including our bishops – warned it would be, and more! Catholic adoption agencies threatened if they won’t get on board with Obergefell, Christian artists and other service providers dragged to court for not endorsing gay “marriage,” and most recently, an LGBTQ movement that can’t even be trusted to leave our kids alone in schools. The least these Catholics could do is refrain from actively rubber-stamping the “marriage” ruling that has been used to attack, smear, and threaten Catholics since day one.”
Nonetheless, the Catholics who supported the bill on Tuesday represented a majority – 93 out of a total of the 129 Catholic Members of Congress who voted.
The names of the Catholic Members of Congress who voted in favor of the codification of gay “marriage” are listed below, starting with the 18 Republicans.