GOP Sen. Ron Johnson Flips on Marriage Equality Bill

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin seems to have reversed his position on the Respect for Marriage Act, now saying the legislation to write marriage equality into federal law is "completely unnecessary."

Johnson said last month that he saw "no reason to oppose" the bill, which has been passed by the House of Representatives and is pending in the Senate. He said then that he considered it unnecessary, as he thought the Supreme Court was unlikely to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that established equal marriage rights nationwide. Justice Clarence Thomas has said he'd like to see Obergefell overturned.

But now Johnson, who was one of the few Republicans to publicly support the legislation, has stepped up his talk about it not being needed and said it needs to be amended to protect religious freedom.

"This is just Democrats opening up a wound that had really healed," Johnson told Wisconsin TV station WISN recently. "I have always been supportive of civil unions, and the Supreme Court ruled on gay marriage and said, OK, that's the decision, let's move on." He claimed the high court would never reverse that decision, unlike with its reversal of Roe v. Wade.

He also called the bill "completely unnecessary" and said it needs an amendment on religious freedom before he'd support it. The bill has a provision barring anyone acting under a state law from denying full faith and credit to a marriage based on the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of the spouses. The U.S. attorney general would have the power to enforce this, and anyone harmed by such a denial would have a right to sue.

Earlier, Johnson had told Axios that his support for the legislation was never a sure thing. "I've never said I would support it," he said. "I said I didn't see a reason to oppose it."

The bill needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, and the chamber has just 50 Democrats and independents who caucus with them, so that means getting 10 Republicans behind it. Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Susan Collins of Maine are cosponsoring it, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are considered likely Republican supporters. Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who's one of the lead sponsors, has said she's confident it will get the necessary Republican support, but she's working on clarifying religious freedom protections.

Baldwin isn't up for reelection this year, but Johnson is. Mandela Barnes, an LGBTQ+ rights supporter who's currently Wisconsin's lieutenant governor, is the Democrat running against him, and the race is likely to be close. Hedging on marriage equality could well be a way for Johnson to appeal to conservatives.