The Respect for Marriage Act passed the Senate this week, meaning that same-sex and interracial marriages will continue to be protected and afforded the same rights (along with the responsibilities) as what Candace Cameron Bure considers to be “traditional marriage.” The legislation was a bipartisan effort, which Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) recently summed in a statement via his website:
“The Respect for Marriage Act is a needed step to provide millions of loving couples in same-sex and interracial marriages the certainty that they will continue to enjoy the freedoms, rights, and responsibilities afforded to all other marriages. Through bipartisan collaboration, we’ve crafted commonsense language to confirm that this legislation fully respects and protects Americans’ religious liberties and diverse beliefs, while leaving intact the core mission of the legislation to protect marriage equality.”
As USA Today reports, the bill passed with 12 Republicans coming together with Democrats to knock this thing into official existence. 37 Republican senators did not agree, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell happened to be one of them. As many know, McConnell recently dealt with Donald Trump’s “ridiculously racist” attack on Mitch’s wife, Elaine Chao, who is Asian-American and also happens to be the ex-U.S. Secretary for Transportation under the Trump administration.
Mitch voted “no” Respect for Marriage Act, and he probably actually meant to vote no on protecting gay marriage. In effect, though, he also voted against protecting interracial marriage, and that’s causing eyebrows to raise for a few reasons. Real questions here: did he forget that Elaine is Asian-American? Does he consider her to be white? And the suggestions only grow worse from there, so people aired it all out on Twitter.
There’s nothing more Mitch McConnell than voting AGAINST interracial marriage while being in an interracial marriage.
— Jack Cocchiarella (@JDCocchiarella) November 16, 2022
Gotta love Mitch McConnell voting against interracial marriage even though his wife isn't white. That's the most ingenious way I've ever seen anyone try and get out of their relationship
— I Smoked The Trump And Dump Scheme (@BlackKnight10k) November 16, 2022
My wife and I have one thing to say to Mitch McConnell and the other 36 Senators who voted against protecting our marriage…
— Ryan Pinesworth ™️ (@RyanPinesworth) November 17, 2022
REMINDER: Mitch McConnell is in an interracial marriage, but he just voted against it. FUCK HIM!
— Mayo 🤍 (@MayoIsSpicyy) November 16, 2022
Mitch McConnell voted against interracial marriage? What? Pls make it make sense pic.twitter.com/KWIR6bSDdX
— Get Vaccinated (@notlauriestrode) November 17, 2022
Congrats to Mitch McConnell for voting against interracial marriage while IN an interracial marriage
Congrats to Clarence Thomas for signaling interracial marriage was next on the chopping block while IN an interracial marriage
I’ve heard of loveless marriages but goddamn 😳
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) November 17, 2022
Do Clarence Thomas & Mitch McConnell know they can just divorce their wives instead of changing laws that punish the rest of us?
— 𝙽𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝙸𝚜 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝙸𝚝 (@NashIsHereForlt) November 17, 2022
How does Mitch McConnell sleep well at night knowing he voted NO on a interracial marriage bill while BEING in a interracial marriage?
— . (@PoliticsVerse) November 16, 2022
Don’t know who needs to hear this, but Mitch McConnell is married to Elaine Chao. He is literally in an interracial marriage. Yet he voted against a motion to advance a bill that would protect interracial marriage. That should tell you everything you need to know about Mitch.
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) November 16, 2022
Mitch recently won his reelection for Senate Minority Leader, so we’ll be seeing plenty of him as usual.