Democrats and Republicans working to pass a limited same-sex marriage protection bill say they have enough votes to avoid a 60-vote filibuster. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has announced the legislation will hit the floor Wednesday. “We have the votes” to overcome a filibuster on the Senate’s same-sex marriage protection bill, a “source close to negotiations” told HuffPost Monday.
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court striking down bans on same-sex marriage in its landmark 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, 35 states still have marriage equality bans “in their constitutions, state law, or both,” according to a Pew Charitable Trusts’ Stateline report in July.
Supporters of same-sex marriage want the Senate to act quickly, given U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has encouraged marriage equality opponents to bring cases that could allow the Court to strike down its ruling in Obergefell.
As many Americans learned this summer when the Court struck down its 49-year old ruling in Roe v. Wade, laws that remain on the books can go back into effect immediately. READ MORE: Katie Hobbs Projected Winner as Kari Lake Launches Election Denial Attacks CNN’s Manu Raju adds that U.S.