Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska.
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News Channel Nebraska
For the second time in a week, Nebraska’s House members—all Republicans—have split their votes on a key issue.
As the House voted today 258-169 in favor of legislation that provides federal protection for same-sex and interracial marriages, Congressman Don Bacon went along with the majority, while Congressmen Mike Flood and Adrian Smith voted against the Respect for Marriage Act.
Bacon has issued a statement arguably trying to keep both sides happy, noting that he believes in “traditional marriage” and adding that the bill “doesn’t compel any state to officiate same-sex marriages but does say the state has to recognize marriages performed in other states.”
Bacon also points out that the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal over seven years ago and since then some “500,000 gay weddings” have been performed.
Contacted by NCN, Flood called the bill a “political ploy” by Washington Democrats and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“The legal status of same-sex marriage is not in question anywhere in the country,” says Flood adding, “This legislation, even with the Senate amendments to the original House bill, has the potential to expose people of faith to serious litigation as they live out their deeply held beliefs.”
Smith sent the following statement to NCN: “We should be working together to address the challenges Americans are facing, not picking a fight with the Supreme Court when they’ve already indicated no one’s marriage is at risk. This unnecessary bill was rushed through, out of regular order, mostly to give Democrats another talking point against the Supreme Court.”
Earlier this month as NCN reported, Bacon, Flood and Smith differed in their votes preventing a nationwide rail strike.
