The House voted to codify marriage equality Tuesday, giving gay and interracial marriages federal protections in the Respect for Marriage Act. The surprise element in the vote was the 47 Republicans who voted with Democrats. Immediately following that vote, Senate Republicans started to volunteer their support for the bill.
That’s brought about a definite change in attitude from Senate Democrats about the utility of these bills. On Tuesday, Majority Whip Dick Durbin was pretty dismissive of the idea of getting those votes on the floor. “We have more priorities than we have time,” he told reporters, adding that cancelling part of the August recess was a possibility, but “it takes all of the Democrats present to make this work.” On the floor Wednesday morning, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “I want to bring this bill to the floor and we’re working to get the necessary Senate Republican support to ensure it would pass.”
Great. Now do it for abortion and birth control. Senate Republicans filibustered legislation to codify abortion rights back in May. That was before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, before the full horror of that decision and its consequences were apparent. Republicans need to be forced to vote on that again.