GOP Sen. Ron Johnson Flips on Marriage Equality Bill
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin seems to have reversed his position on the Respect for Marriage Act, now saying the legislation to write marriage equality into federal law is “completely unnecessary.”Johnson said last month that he saw “no reason to oppose” the bill, which has been passed by the House of Representatives and is pending in the Senate.
He said then that he considered it unnecessary, as he thought the Supreme Court was unlikely to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that established equal marriage rights nationwide.
Justice Clarence Thomas has said he’d like to see Obergefell overturned.But now Johnson, who was one of the few Republicans to publicly support the legislation, has stepped up his talk about it not being needed and said it needs to be amended to protect religious freedom.“This is just Democrats opening up a wound that had really healed,” Johnson told Wisconsin TV station WISN recently. “I have always been supportive of civil unions, and the Supreme Court ruled on gay marriage and said, OK, that’s the decision, let’s move on.” He claimed the high court would never reverse that decision, unlike with its reversal of Roe v.
Wade.He also called the bill “completely unnecessary” and said it needs an amendment on religious freedom before he’d support it.
