Democrats Hold The Senate Following Election
Democrats now maintain control of the Senate following the reelection of Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada. This majority is celebrated by the LGBTQ community in America. I’m sure a lot of us were worried about the possibility of trans and LGBTQ rights being infringed if things went south this election!
One senate seat in Georgia remains to be filled by runoff election on December 6 between democrat Raphael Warnock and republican Herschel Walker. Cortez Masto’s win means that the Democrats do hold at least 50 sennate seats, with the vice president casting a vote to break a tie if need be.
The democratic hold on the Senate is a welcome one, as the overturn of Roe v. Wade inspired the idea of reviewing of the cases that legalized marriage equality, with Justice Clarence Thomas expressing this thought. Before the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the leaders in the Senate promised to codify marriage equality through the Respect for Marriage Act.
Democrats in power have announced that they will prioritize marriage equality in the time between now and January 3 while the new congress is being sworn in. A vote on the Respect for Marriage Act is in the works and coming soon!
Human Rights Campaign Interim President Joni Madison has to say on the matter, “Though the control of the House of Representatives remains unclear, America can look forward to a Senate that will respect and advance LGBTQ+ rights, abortion rights, voting rights, and so many more freedoms that we all count on. Anti-equality forces made capturing the U.S. Senate the centerpiece of their political ambitions for this midterm election—but they failed.”
With democrats in the majority in the Senate, the Equality Act, which would add more to the federal anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people, is going to be a lot more likely to pass. If the Senate can pass the Respect for Marriage Act, that is good news for the Equality act, since both require at least 10 republican votes to make it to the president’s office.
