SC’s Graham, Scott vote against bill codifying same-sex marriage

South Carolina’s U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scottvoted against a bill aimed at protecting same-sex and interracial marriage rights.

Despite the two Republicans’ opposition, the Respect for Marriage Act passed the U.S. Senate Tuesday in a 61-36 vote, with 12 Republicans joining Democrats in support of the bill. Because the Senate amended the bill, it now returns to the House, which passed marriage rights legislation earlier this year and is expected to approve the Senate’s changes, before going to President Joe Biden for his signature.

South Carolina Republican U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Tom Rice joined House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn in voting for the bill earlier this year.

Graham said on Twitter he objected to the bill because of its “lackluster provisions” protecting religious liberty, which he called “woefully inadequate to the task.”

The Senate amended the bill to exempt religious organizations from performing same-sex marriages.

Graham said he wanted an amendment proposed by U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, that would have protected religious schools, faith-based organizations and other nonprofit entities that believe in traditional marriage from potentially losing tax-exempt status.

Graham added the Respect for Marriage Act will “open up religious institutions to endless litigation.”

“In the name of protecting one group we have now undermined the rights of another,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the lead Senate Republican sponsor of the bill, has denied it can be used to alter the tax-exempt status of any organization.

The Democrat-controlled House and Senate pushed for the legislation after Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion in the Dobbs case that the Supreme Court should reconsider the 2015 Obergefell decision that found a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Thomas’ opinion sparked fears the Supreme Court could overturn the decision in the same fashion it overturned Roe v. Wade, and return such decisions to individual states.