Today, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that during a campaign stop last week, Ron Johnson “was definitive — saying he would not support the Respect for Marriage Act in its current form” and went so far as to indicate that “he believes the Supreme Court case giving same-sex couples the right to marry was ‘wrongly decided.’”
Demonstrating that he never was genuine in his initial statement this summer, the article reported that Johnson told the crowd “he put out his July statement saying he wouldn’t oppose the legislation, he said, to get the press ‘off my backs.’”
It’s clear Wisconsinites can’t trust a single word that comes out of Ron Johnson’s mouth.
Take a look at the key points from the report below.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ron Johnson won’t support same-sex marriage bill in its current form, says 2015 Supreme Court ruling was ‘wrongly decided’
By Lawrence Andrea | September 7, 2022
Key Points:
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U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s vote on a bill to codify same-sex marriage has been in question since the Wisconsin Republican initially said he saw “no reason to oppose” the legislation.
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Johnson in recent weeks has noted he “never said” he would support the bill and indicated he has reservations over how the legislation could impact religious protections.
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But speaking at a public meeting in Hartford last week, the Oshkosh Republican was definitive — saying he would not support the Respect for Marriage Act in its current form and indicating he believes the Supreme Court case giving same-sex couples the right to marry was “wrongly decided.”
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He put out his July statement saying he wouldn’t oppose the legislation, he said, to get the press “off my backs.”
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“I would not support it in its current state,” Johnson said at a Common Sense Citizens of Washington County meeting Thursday after reiterating his concerns about religious liberties, according to a recording obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Johnson has maintained that he does not think a bill codifying same-sex marriage is necessary. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which protected the right to abortion, he’s said, will not impact same-sex marriage.
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Still, Democrats see the measure as pertinent after Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should “reconsider” its previous due process precedents, including the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that gave same-sex couples the right to marry.
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In his comments in Hartford, Johnson said Thomas was “probably right” that the Obergefell decision was wrong.
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“Because Justice Thomas is probably right that it was wrongly decided,” Johnson added. “But that’s a different issue as to whether or not the Supreme Court would overturn it. They never will. I do not see any scenario.”
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Johnson also bemoaned reporters’ questions about whether he would support the bill.
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“So you just get hounded on this crap, right?” Johnson said. “So just to get them off my backs, I wrote a press release, and I said I always supported civil unions. Never felt that we needed to do anything other than that.”
Read the full report here.
Published: Sep 7, 2022