Oklahoma’s U.S. Senators were not among the Republicans who supported the U.S. Senate passing the “Respect for Marriage Act” on Tuesday. The measure includes protections for same-sex marriages. While it passed by a vote of 61 to 36, Senators Jim Inhofe and James Lankford voted against the bill.
“My position on marriage is clear and has not changed,” Inhofe said. “I believe that all individuals are made in the image of God and are worthy of dignity and respect regardless of their belief system and opinions, but we must uphold the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. I could not vote for a bill that goes against these strongly held beliefs.”
Lankford tried to get a religious exemption amendment attached to the bill. While that failed, some religious considerations were put into the measure. However, they were not strong enough to win over Lankford.
“The Respect for Marriage Act has serious problems in the text that will create years of litigation and distrust across the country. The bill 
was intentionally written to exclude religious and conscience protections for individuals, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations and will further subject them to harassment and lawsuits for living out their faith and partnering with the government. All Americans should be honored, and no one should be discriminated against. But, as President Obama stated in 2015, ‘Americans of goodwill continue to hold a wide range of views on this issue. Opposition in some cases has been based on sincere and deeply held beliefs.’ Today’s vote unnecessarily chose to run over millions of people who hold those deeply held beliefs,” said Lankford.
The Respect for Marriage Act moves to the U.S. House which previously passed similar legislation.
