Our senior senator from Missouri, Republican Roy Blunt, is retiring after seven distinguished terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and two in the Senate. Sen. Blunt has made his mark as a proven consensus builder in Washington and here in Missouri, and he will surely be missed. As local, state and national politics become increasingly polarized, many institutionalists are stepping aside, and their likely replacements appear less inclined to reach across the aisle to work toward advancing meaningful policies.
But there is a silver lining: Important and tangible accomplishments are in sight before the next Congress convenes. One example is the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill to codify same-sex marriage into federal law, which will be under consideration during the year-end lame duck session. Blunt’s support for this bill would mark the capstone of his career and cement a legacy of setting aside politics for the greater good.
Sen. Blunt and I have different political viewpoints and do not agree on every issue. Yet when I was serving as mayor of Independence, we formed a productive relationship, collaborating on important issues such as funding for the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum and the National Parks Service’s new Truman Visitor’s Center. Blunt led the bipartisan effort creating the Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Expansion Act to create criteria for certified community behavioral health clinics. Missouri was one of just eight states included in the pilot program that was established to address the urgent demand for treatment of mental illnesses and addictions.
In 2021, I presented Sen. Blunt with the Harry S. Truman Award for Public Service, the highest honor bestowed by the city of Independence. Above all, I could always count on the senator to take my phone call, which was invaluable to my constituents needing assistance cutting through red tape in Washington.
Today, few rights are more personal than every American’s ability to marry and start a family with a person they love. It is a matter many assumed had been settled by the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriage across the nation. But in June, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested revisiting Obergefell using the precedent the court established under its Dobbs decision this year reversing Roe v. Wade.
You can imagine the fear this has created for the more than 1 million married same-sex couples in America, as well as for LGBTQ+ youth and single adults who seek the same rights to marriage and family as straight people. Fortunately, the House of Representatives responded by passing the Respect for Marriage Act in July with a strong bipartisan majority, including 47 Republicans members.
As written, the bill takes steps to provide stability for same-sex couples. It guarantees that same-sex marriages performed legally in one state are respected federally and by every other state. The legislation also prohibits anyone using a state law to deny the legitimacy of a marriage based on the gender, race, ethnicity or national origin of the spouses.
The Respect for Marriage Act now needs 10 Republican senators to reach the required 60 votes to become law. So far, only a handful of Senate Republicans have announced their support for the measure.
As a Democrat and a Missourian, I can say that our state has benefited from the leadership of Sen. Blunt. The proof can be found in his record of results and actions that have sometimes run counter to the divisive political landscape. As he prepares to conclude his career, I hope my friend and our senior senator decides to reach across the aisle one more time and ensure that the Respect for Marriage Act becomes federal law.
About the author: Eileen Weir served as the 50th mayor of Independence from 2014 to 2022.
