How ND’s delegation will vote on the same-sex marriage bill

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - There’s a controversial piece of legislation moving through Congress, and North Dakota’s lawmakers are taking alternative stances on it.

When the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last month, Justice Clarence Thomas hinted at reviewing the right to same-sex marriage. This week, the House of Representatives voted to codify that right into law.

In a rare show of bipartisanship, 47 Republican House members joined the Democrats to affirm same-sex marriage. One of those who voted in favor? Representative Kelly Armstrong, who called the legislation “commonsense,” as he says it aligns with the U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause. Next, the bill will go to the Senate, and Senator Kevin Cramer hasn’t yet decided on how he’ll vote.

“This particular bill was designed specifically to protect gay marriage. It does not preclude protecting other types of marriage, whether it’s polygamy, or child marriage, or adult-to-child marriage, and those are things, if it came over, we’d certainly want to fix, I think, in the Senate,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer.

Given the makeup of the Senate, the bill would need ten Republican votes to join all Democrats to pass it. As of now, Congress’s August recess might come and go before lawmakers vote on it.

As for how Senator John Hoeven will vote, he told Your News Leader that he has to take a look at the legislation before he can say definitively, but he also said he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, and that he will vote accordingly.