Congressional Votes

H.R. 8404 would codify the right to marry regardless of sexual orientation or race. It prohibits the states from denying marriage between two individuals on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. This bill also repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman.”

The House passed H.R. 8404 on December 8, 2022 by a vote of 258 to 169 (Roll Call 513). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this Marxist-inspired bill violates state sovereignty. Additionally, it embraces “woke” culture and undermines the traditional nuclear family. Rights come from God, not government.

H.R. 8404 would codify the right to marry regardless of sexual orientation or race. It prohibits the states from denying marriage between two individuals on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. This bill also repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman.”

The Senate passed H.R. 8404 on November 29, 2022 by a vote of 61 to 36 (Roll Call 362). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this Marxist-inspired bill violates state sovereignty. Additionally, it embraces “woke” culture and undermines the traditional nuclear family. Rights come from God, not government.

The Equality Act (H.R. 5) would expand the definition of protected classes in federal law to include “sexual orientation and gender identity.” Regarding the latter, the bill explicitly states that “an individual shall not be denied access to a shared facility, including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing room, that is in accordance with the individual’s gender identity.” That is, males who identify as females would be able to use the public restrooms, locker rooms, and dressing rooms of females — and vice versa. Moreover, the bill not only fails to include religious exemptions (e.g., allowing a church adoption agency to refuse placing children with homosexual couples), but explicitly states that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 cannot be used as a defense against the bill’s applications.

The House passed the Equality Act on February 25, 2021 by a vote of 224 to 206 (Roll Call 39). We have assigned pluses to the nays because of the harm it would cause to heterosexual children and adults, as well as threatening religious freedom and the right of association.

This bill (H.R. 3313) would protect marriage from judicial activism by restricting the federal courts as opposed to amending the Constitution. Specifically, H.R. 3313 would stipulate that "no court created by Act of Congress shall have any jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate jurisdiction" to interpret, or rule on the constitutionality of, Title 28, Section 1738C of the U.S. Code. Section 1738C states that no state, territory, or possession of the U.S "shall be required to give effect" to same-sex "marriages" performed under the laws of another state, territory, or possession.

H.R. 3313 would not prohibit the federal courts from hearing all same-sex "marriage" cases, since it is narrowly worded. A more broadly written measure would have been better. Nevertheless, H.R. 3313 would be a step in the right direction.

The House passed H.R. 3313 on July 22, 2004 by a vote of 233 to 194 (Roll Call 410). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because H.R. 3313 would help protect marriage via a long-neglected congressional check on the federal judiciary.

The ACLU and similar groups have long crusaded to force the removal of all aspects of religious expression from public grounds under the pretense that such expression violates the First Amendment. This amendment to H.R. 1501, offered by Representative Robert Aderholt (R-AL), takes issue with that notion. The amendment states that "the power to display the Ten Commandments" on public property is "declared to be among the powers reserved to the states...." It also declares that individual religious expression on public grounds is "among the rights secured against laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion" and "among the liberties which no state shall deprive any person without due process of law...." Moreover: "The courts constituted, ordained, and established by the Congress shall exercise the judicial power in a manner consistent with the foregoing declarations." The House adopted the amendment on June 17, 1999 by a vote of 248 to 180 (Congressional Record, pages H4486-87, roll call 221; we have assigned pluses to the yeas).