These 12 GOP Senators Supported the Respect for Marriage Act
Not all GOP U.S. senators voted against the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday. The Respect for Marriage Act passed 61-36, with 12 Republicans joining Democrats to support the bill.
The proposal will now go back to the House, which voted in favor of the legislation earlier this year but will now have to vote on the newer version passed by the Senate. Then the bill will go to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law.
And while Democrats in the Senate have supported the measure since it was proposed, it was only until after the midterms earlier this month that there were enough votes to surpass a probable filibuster -- a procedural motion that can stop bills in their tracks.
About 60 percent of Americans support a federal marriage equality law, according to a Politico and Morning Consult poll conducted last summer. Notably, the bill also protects interracial marriages.
The GOP lawmakers who voted in the affirmative were Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Joni Ernst of Iowa, and Todd Young of Indiana.
Right before the vote on Tuesday, Collins said that the bill "will advance two goals: one, the goal of marriage equality for same-sex and interracial couples, and, second, the goal of strengthening religious liberty and conscience protections."
She also expressed her gratitude to her GOP colleagues for making the bill a bipartisan effort.
"I also want to thank all of the Republicans who have supported this," Collins said. "I know that it has not been easy, but they've done the right thing."
Here are the 12 Republican lawmakers who voted in support of the Respect for Marriage Act.
Related: Senate Passes Respect for Marriage Act
(Image via Getty Images)
Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming
Photo by Caroline Brehman-Pool/Getty Images
Dan Sullivan of Alaska
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Todd Young of Indiana
Photo by Rod Lamkey-Pool/Getty Images
Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
Photo by Andrew Harnik - Pool/Getty Images
Rob Portman of Ohio
Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images
Joni Ernst of Iowa
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Roy Blunt of Missouri
Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Richard Burr of North Carolina
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Thom Tillis of North Carolina
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Susan Collins of Maine
Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images
Mitt Romney of Utah
Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
