A Pennsylvania representative attended the same-sex wedding of his son three days after voting against legislation to protect the recognition of same-sex marriages.
Rep. Glenn Thompson, a Republican who represents a large swath of conservative northern Pennsylvania, voted against the bill brought by Democrats to the floor of the House of Representatives.
The vote came amid concerns that the Supreme Court ruling overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision on abortion access could jeopardize other rights aside from access to abortion, including 2015′s Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which established the rights of same-sex couples to marry nationwide.
In a concurring opinion to last month’s ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the high court “should consider” a number of other key rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, which guaranteed the right for same-sex couples to marry, and Griswold v. Connecticut, which protects the right of marital privacy against state restrictions on contraception.
“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,” Thomas wrote. “Because any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous’ … we have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those precedents.”
The House passed a flurry of legislation in response to the ruling and Thomas’ concurring opinion, including the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify marriage equality rights into law and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. The bill protecting the recognition passed 267-157, with 47 Republicans — including three from Pennsylvania — joining every Democrat in backing it.
On Friday, Thompson attended the same-sex wedding of his son.
“Congressman and Mrs. Thompson were thrilled to attend and celebrate their son’s marriage on Friday night as he began this new chapter in his life,” Thompson’s office said in a statement. “The Thompsons are very happy to welcome their new son-in-law into their family.”
Thompson’s press secretary also called the bill “nothing more than an election-year messaging stunt for Democrats in Congress who have failed to address historic inflation and out of control prices at gas pumps and grocery stores.”
The House bill would require the federal and state governments to recognize same-sex marriages, but would not stop a state from banning such marriages in the future.
In 2014, a federal judge struck down Pennsylvania’s same-sex marriage ban, and then-Gov. Tom Corbett declined to appeal it.
Democrats in the Senate are currently working to see if the measure has enough support among Republicans to overcome the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold to pass the bill.
