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Rep. Glenn Thompson Voted Against Same-Sex Marriage, Then Attended His Gay Son’s Wedding – AOL

July 26, 2022, 1:36 PM

rep-glenn-thompson-same-sex-marriage-son.jpg House Republican Conference at Capitol Hill Club - Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP
rep-glenn-thompson-same-sex-marriage-son.jpg House Republican Conference at Capitol Hill Club – Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP

While attending his son’s same-sex wedding, Republican representative Glenn Thompson shared how “blessed” he felt to have “a new son enter the family.” But just days before the happy occasion, Thompson voted against a House bill that would codify the right to same-sex marriage into federal law. 

Last week, 157 House Republicans, including Thompson, voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which allowed states to ban same-sex marriage. The Respect for Marriage Act also establishes that no individual may use state law to deny “any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State pertaining to a marriage between 2 individuals, on the basis of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals.”

The bill is a measure brought forth by House Democrats looking to protect rights established by the Supreme Court under the due process clause and the “right to privacy,” with such cases including the right to same-sex marriage, access to contraceptives, and the decriminalization of relationships between same-sex couples. The move comes after the court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving reproductive rights largely unprotected through federal law. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas indicated in a concurring opinion that the court should reconsider those previous rulings, as well. 

Years before, on the day the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, Thompson tweeted that the court’s ruling “disregards the will of millions of Americans by forcing them to redefine biblical #marriage as defined by their faith.” 

It’s nothing new. The conservative social agenda is driven by lawmakers who will inevitably privately enjoy and celebrate many of the rights they publicly seek to strip from their constituents and family members. In other words, the “blessing” Thompson so readily celebrates within his own family is one he is happy to denounce publicly, so long as it helps him politically.

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