Birth Control, Gay Marriage, Sexual Violence: See How House Republicans Voted on it All

While every House Democrats supported protecting freedoms for all Americans, most Republicans voted against these bills.

While Republicans bill themselves as the “Party of Freedom,” the party has recently voted against bills that enshrined equal rights and safeguarded freedoms for all Americans. It’s about time you knew their names. Today we’re diving into three pieces of recent equal rights legislation that Republicans largely rejected. See if your state’s House Republicans stood up for equal rights or sat on their hands.

Right to Contraception Act (H.R. 8373)

Vote: 228 - 195 , 195 Republicans Voting Against (July 2022)
Purpose: “To protect a person’s ability to access contraceptives and to engage in contraception, and to protect a health care provider’s ability to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information related to contraception.”

Only eight House Republicans voted in favor of this bill’s passage, all except one came from east of the Mississippi River.

Not only is it astonishing that nearly every House Republican voted against protections for birth control, every Republican woman in the House voted against this bill except for three: Liz Cheney (WY), Nancy Mace (SC), and Maria Salazar (FL). The bill provides language to guarantee access to contraceptives and provides the Department of Justice with the power to take civil action against any federal or state official that restricts access to birth control. The legislation is a direct response to Clarence Thomas after he called for SCOTUS to reconsider Griswold v. Connecticut, a case that protects the right to buy and use contraceptives without government interference. After passing the House, this legislation has been introduced in the Senate and has not received a vote.

Target List*: David Schweikert (AZ-1), Don Bacon (NE-2), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-1), Michelle Steel (CA-45), Steve Chabot (OH-1)

*This list is comprised of Republican House lawmakers who voted against the bill above and are running for re-election in swing districts. Support their Democratic challengers to help vote them out!

Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404)

Vote: 267 - 157, 157 Republicans Voted Against (July 2022)
Purpose: The bill repeals and replaces provisions that define marriage as between a man and a woman. The bill also repeals and replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.

While 47 Republicans defected from their party to vote in support of the bill, nearly all Southern Republicans voted against it.

While the bill has gained notoriety for codifying same-sex marriage into federal law, it also includes language that protects interracial marriage. That didn’t stop 157 Republicans from voting against the measure. Much attention should be paid to the geography of the GOP’s votes on marriage equality. Every state south of the Mason-Dixon line (excluding Utah) saw a majority of its GOP delegation vote against the bill. Out of the 20 states where every single GOP member voted against the bill, a sizable majority of them are southern states. There’s immense political power in fostering a regional coalition across states. This must be remembered if Western Republicans grab the spotlight in the coming weeks: they sit at odds with their counterparts to the South and are outliers within their party, not trendsetters.

Target List: Jamie Herrera Beutler (WA-5), Bob Good (VA-5), Tom McClintock (CA-3)

Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1620)

Vote: 244 - 172, 172 Republicans Voted Against (March 2021)
Purpose: Modifies and reauthorizes through FY2026 programs and activities under the Violence Against Women Act that seek to prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

This vote exposes a slight rift amongst Republicans in the Rust Belt as only Indiana saw all of its GOP reps vote against the bill.

Republicans broke away from the Violence Against Women Act because they wanted a “clean” authorization without any new provisions. Democrats instead added new protections against previously unprotected forms of sexual violence like revenge porn and expanded sexual violence resources for minority groups like LGBTQ+ people and tribal communities. Republicans denounced the bill almost immediately and several politicians utilized transphobic rhetoric (CW) to justify their votes.

Target List: Yvette Herrell (NM-2), Mike Garcia (CA-27), Ashley Hinson (IA-2), Robert Wittman (VA-1)