Freedom Caucus lobbies against same-sex marriage bill despite chair voting for it

The House Freedom Caucus is urging Senate Republicans to oppose the Respect for Marriage Act that would codify federal protections for same-sex marriage, even though its chair, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), voted in favor of the legislation.

“The ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ was rushed through the House as yet another weapon to distract, confuse, and deceive American Citizens. It allowed no hearings or markups, and less than a day to review,” the Freedom Caucus said in its official position statement.

“The radical Left has launched an all-out campaign on America’s traditional values and sacred institutions. It has weakened the nuclear family, attacked the norms of masculinity and femininity, and now it wants to further erode the sacred institution of marriage,” the caucus said. “This bill is both unnecessary and undermines the recognition of ‘marriage’ between only one man and one woman. After overwhelmingly opposing the ‘Respect for Marriage Act,’ the House Freedom Caucus urges the Senate Republican Conference to oppose it as well.”

The bill would also repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage for federal purposes as being between one man and one woman, and protect marriages between interracial couples. Democrats brought up the bill as a response to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas writing that the Court should “reconsider” its substantive due process precedents in several cases, specifically naming the case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide but not the case that protected interracial marriage.

The Respect for Marriage Act passed in the House on Tuesday with the support of 47 Republicans – including Perry.

The York Daily Record reported that Perry said his vote would codify the assurance that interracial couples would not face discrimination.

“Agree or disagree with same-sex marriage, my vote affirmed my long-held belief that Americans who enter into legal agreements deserve to live their lives without the threat that our federal government will dissolve what they’ve built,” Perry told the York Daily Record.

In another statement to The Hill, Perry expressed concerns with the bill.

“I had grave concerns with this bill and the deceitful way in which is was written. I made the best of the two worst choices I had.  If the Senate does take it up, they must definitively clarify the language,” Perry said.

Another 157 Republicans voted against the bill, including the vast majority of Freedom Caucus members.

House Freedom Caucus bylaws require a supermajority of at least 80 percent of the caucus in order to take an official position, according to founding caucus member and former chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)’s political memoir “Do What You Said You Would Do.”

The bill needs at least 10 Republican votes to pass in the Senate to overcome a Senate filibuster, and there is a distinct possibility that it gets that support. Four Senate Republicans so far have said they would vote for the bill.

–Updated at 1:31 p.m.