In contrast to the responses to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday favoring Obamacare, reaction among Senate Republicans to Friday's high court's ruling in favor of same-sex marriage is not as solid.
While all 55 GOP senators denounced the Obamacare ruling, at least one, Ohio’s Rob Portman, broke ranks to say he welcomed "as a father" the ruling permitting same-sex marriage nationwide. In 2013, Portman made headlines by becoming the first Republican senator to endorse same-sex marriage after his son, Will, revealed he was gay.
With the ruling in Obergefell v. Hodge, Portman told reporters, "we can move past the division and polarization the issue has caused."
In 2004, Portman’s fellow Buckeye State residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of an initiative defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Most Republican senators came out strongly against the ruling in Obergefell. Reflecting the sentiments of nearly all of his GOP colleagues, freshman Sen. Ben Sasse declared that the "Supreme Court once again overstepped its constitutional role by acting as a super-legislature and imposing its own definition of marriage on the American people rather than allowing voters to decide in the states."
The Nebraska lawmaker called on Americans "to celebrate marriage as the best way to provide stability and opportunity for kids. As President [Barack] Obama has said, there are good people on both sides of the issue. I hope we all can agree that our neighbors deserve the freedom to live out their religious convictions."
Republican presidential hopefuls almost universally denounced the same-sex ruling. Mike Huckabee, for example, tweeted that the ruling was "irrational" and called on Congress to act against it. Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania branded Obergefell the work of "five unelected justices."
But other 2016 candidates toned down their criticism. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham called himself a "proud defender of traditional marriage," but said he would "respect the court decision."
Jeb Bush, also noting his longtime defense of traditional marriage and belief that the states should decide the issue, said he "also believes we should love our neighbor and respect others including those making lifetime commitments."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax