Pa. lawmaker opposed same-sex marriage, then attended gay son’s wedding
Rep. Glenn Thompson attended the same-sex wedding of his son three days after voting against a House bill that aimed to protect the recognition of same-sex marriages.
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania congressman attended the same-sex wedding of his son three days after voting against a House bill that aimed to protect the recognition of same-sex marriages.
Rep. Glenn Thompson, a Republican who represents a large swath of conservative northern Pennsylvania, voted against the bill brought by Democrats to the floor of the U.S. House.
The vote came last week amid concerns that the Supreme Court ruling overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision on abortion access could jeopardize other rights, including 2015′s Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which established the rights of same-sex couples to marry nationwide.
The bill protecting the recognition passed, 267-157, on July 19, with 47 Republicans — including three from Pennsylvania — joining every Democrat in backing it.
On Friday — three days after the House vote — Thompson attended the same-sex wedding of his son.
“Congressman and Mrs. Thompson were thrilled to attend and celebrate their son’s marriage on Friday night as he began this new chapter in his life,” Thompson’s office said in a statement. “The Thompsons are very happy to welcome their new son-in-law into their family.”
Thompson’s press secretary called the bill “nothing more than an election-year messaging stunt for Democrats in Congress who have failed to address historic inflation and out of control prices at gas pumps and grocery stores.”
The House bill would require the federal and state governments to recognize same-sex marriages but would not stop a state from banning such marriages in the future.
In 2014, a federal judge struck down Pennsylvania’s same-sex marriage ban, and then-Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, declined to appeal it.