Idaho’s Russ Fulcher opposed bill to protect same-sex marriage. Mike Simpson supported it

Idaho U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher joined the majority of U.S House Republicans who opposed a bill that would guarantee marriage rights to same-sex couples, after concerns grew over the last month that the U.S. Supreme Court could seek to overturn protections for marriage equality.

The state’s two GOP U.S. representatives, Fulcher and Mike Simpson, split their votes Tuesday on the proposed law, known as the Respect for Marriage Act, which the House overwhelmingly passed with bipartisan support. All House Democrats voted in favor of the bill.

Simpson, 71, who for more than two decades has represented eastern Idaho and part of Boise, was one of 47 Republicans to support the bill. Another 157 House Republicans opposed it. The national Republican Party issued no guidance to members for how to vote on the bill, according to news reports.

Both of Idaho’s House incumbents are up reelection in November. Fulcher, 60, is running for his third term in the 1st Congressional District seat, which encompasses western and North Idaho, while Simpson is seeking his 13th term to represent the 2nd Congressional District.

Fulcher’s office and campaign didn’t respond to interview requests from the Idaho Statesman on Wednesday. But he issued a statement on Facebook on Tuesday night that took aim at H.R. 8404, saying the bill reflected the Democratic Party “resorting to fearmongering.” He also questioned the amount of review it received in the House Judiciary Committee, where the bill was introduced on Monday.

“H.R. 8404 unnecessarily inserts the heavy hand of the federal government where it is not needed, creating a scenario where Idaho may be forced to recognize an evolving definition of marriage according to other states,” Fulcher said. “Democrats are desperate to change the conversation from record high gas prices and runaway inflation — so they are resorting to fearmongering.”

Simpson, meanwhile, told the Statesman in an emailed statement that he supported the basis of the bill.

“I voted to uphold Supreme Court precedent for American adults to marry without regard to gender, race, or ethnicity,” Simpson said. “Marriage in one state will continue to be recognized and legitimate in every other state.”

Fears that the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court would target same-sex marriage protections have followed after its decision to overturn a pair of landmark rulings, including Roe v. Wade, that previously established the constitutional right to an abortion.

In an opinion on the abortion decision, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said that the court should reconsider other prior decisions, including the rights to contraception, same-sex sexual activities and gay marriage, labeling each ruling “demonstrably erroneous.”

“We have a duty to ‘correct the error’ in those precedents,” Thomas wrote.

Fulcher’s vote instantly drew criticism from Idaho Democrats, including his congressional opponent in the November general election, in addition to a Libertarian challenger.

Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea in a statement Tuesday night called Fulcher’s vote “appalling.”

“While Democrats have once again voted to protect Idahoans’ rights, many Republicans are actively trying to make it possible to take away our freedoms — whether that’s the freedom to marry the person you love or the freedom to make your own health care decisions,” Necochea said.

Simpson in his statement to the Statesman countered such claims.

“Democrats have nothing to show for their time in the majority and are wasting precious floor time on bills that make absolutely no changes to existing law, rather than addressing real problems like sky high gas prices and crippling inflation in our country,” he said. “I hope House leadership can now get serious and propose legislation that will actually provide much needed relief for the American people.”

LGBTQ rights ‘on the ballot’

Fulcher’s congressional opponents in November blasted his vote against the bill. Democrat Kaylee Peterson, of Eagle, and Joe Evans, a Libertarian Party candidate, of Boise, are each challenging the two-term incumbent for his seat.

“Russ Fulcher is putting the very rights and freedoms of Idaho citizens at risk,” Peterson said in a statement. “His vote against marriage equality is just one more example of how out of touch he is with Idaho values. Once again, Fulcher has voted in favor of extreme government intrusion into our homes and jeopardized the safety and stability of our communities.”

“It’s definitely a right, and the state has an obligation to protect that right,” Evans, who said he would have supported the bill, told the Statesman by phone. “It’s the right to the pursuit of happiness, and whatever that means to the individual is sacrosanct. The state has no power to take that away from anyone. No one person has the ability to take that from anyone else, and as a result they cannot delegate the state to take that away.”

David Roth, of Idaho Falls, also is challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, 71, a four-term incumbent, for his seat. Roth, 40, is believed to be the only U.S. Senate nominee in the country in November’s general election who is openly gay.

“House Republicans just voted to DENY the right to marriage equality,” Roth wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “Now that LGBTQ+ rights are so clearly on the ballot, it’s more important than ever … to support the ONLY openly gay nominee for U.S. Senate.”

High-ranking Democrats, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, also criticized Republicans such as Fulcher who voted against the bill. Buttigieg, 40, is the nation’s first-ever openly gay Cabinet member confirmed by the U.S. Senate, marrying his partner in 2018.

“It’s 2022, and 157 House Republicans just voted against marriage equality,” Buttigieg posted to Twitter Tuesday. “That’s where they come down on this issue. In 2022.”

It is unclear if Democratic leadership in the U.S. Senate will be able to bring the Respect for Marriage Act to the floor, possibly lacking the 60 votes necessary to overcome a filibuster. The upper chamber of Congress is split evenly between Democrats — plus independents who support their political platform — and Republicans.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, posted to Twitter Wednesday that he was working with colleagues, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, to rally Republican votes. Baldwin, who is a lesbian, became the first openly gay woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1999, before doing the same in the U.S. Senate, in 2013.

“This legislation is so important,” Schumer wrote. “I’m working with Sen. Baldwin, one of our Senate leaders on this bill, to get the necessary Republican support to pass it in the Senate.”