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--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, and welcome to Morning Wire. I'm Georgia Howe.
--:-- John Bickley: And I'm John Bickley, the Editor-in-Chief of Daily Wire. We're glad you're here.
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--:-- John Bickley: A bill that would codify same-sex marriage into law has passed the House with bipartisan support. Now, the bill moves to the Senate, where it's expected to face pushback. Marriage was always an issue that was left to the states. We take a look at how attitudes toward marriage have shifted dramatically over the past few decades, and whether this law will actually change the law of the land.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, July 21st, and this is Morning Wire. The White House announces a new action plan to address what it's calling a climate crisis. What did President Biden say in his speech Wednesday? And will Congress act?
--:-- John Bickley: And after intense pressure and public outcry, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg dropped all charges against the bodega worker who killed a man who attacked him in his store. Will this be enough to satisfy critics of Bragg who accuse him of coddling criminals?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Everyone knows that this man didn't go out that morning thinking he was going to kill someone. But his life was in danger, and all he did was defend himself. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: The House passed the Respect of Marriage Act on Tuesday, a bill that would legislatively enshrine a right to same-sex unions. The vote is largely viewed as a response to the Supreme Court's recent Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, in particular Justice Clarence Thomas' concurrence.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to explain what's behind the Respect for Marriage Act and how likely it is to pass the Senate is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, when you look at how this vote broke down, it seems to represent a real sea change on marriage as a social issue. Yeah, it does. And I think what you can say is that the left seems to feel that what was once a liability for them may now be something of an advantage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So to give you an idea of just how drastically public opinion has shifted on this issue, in 1996, when President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which restricted marriage to one man and one woman, it passed with broad bipartisan support. And even as late as 2008, voters in deep blue California rejected same-sex marriage when it was on the ballot.
--:-- Megan Basham: By 2012, though, after a number of state and federal courts ruled in favor of gay marriage, voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington voted for it. So the issue was finally put to rest on a national level in 2015. And that's when the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v Hodges that it a right protected by the Constitution.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now the logic the court used for that ruling was based on the 14th Amendment provisions of equal protection and privacy That the same reasoning behind the Roe decision legalizing abortion.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, you know, you'll often hear that the law is a teacher, and that certainly seems to be the case on this particular issue. Because since that ruling, public opinion has moved to really keep up with Obergefell. While in 2012, Americans were evenly split on gay marriage. According to the latest Gallup poll, 71% are now in favor of it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And do you think public opinion is the main reason that so many Republicans voted in support of it?
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, I do. I think probably so. Now, arguably, the most noteworthy thing about this House vote is that 47 Republicans joined Democrats in support of the bill. And Republican leadership in the House made it clear that they were not going to whip votes against this bill.
--:-- John Bickley: What they said was that members could vote their conscience. To give you one idea, this was Michigan's Republican Congressman Peter Meyer explaining why he voted for the act.
--:-- Peter Meyer: What this court has said, they've said, Congress, do your job. Don't rely on the courts to do the legislation. Take up that legislation yourself. And that's frankly what this bill was. It says with regards to a marriage between two individuals, regardless of sex, regardless of ethnicity, regardless of race, regardless of national origin, if it is legally performed in one state, it has to be recognized in another state.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, on the other hand, Ohio Republican Jim Jordan voted against the bill. But the reason he offered wasn't because he's against gay marriage. Instead, he said that the bill is completely unnecessary and that it represents Democrats' attempt to, quote, delegitimize and intimidate the United States Supreme Court.
--:-- Megan Basham: He also said Democrats are using it to distract from their failing policies. So Congressman Meyer also brought up the Thomas concurrence. Why is that the focus here?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, primarily it's because Thomas was the one justice who argued that overturning Roe should prompt the court to reconsider those other rulings that were based on the same precedent. He specifically cited Obergefell.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, Samuel Alito's majority opinion rejected Thomas's reasoning. He said, quoting here, nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast a doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion. And none of the other conservative justices joined Thomas's concurrence.
--:-- Georgia Howe: How likely is this bill to pass in the Senate?
--:-- Megan Basham: It's definitely going to face a challenge to get the 10 Republican votes that it needs to overcome the 60-vote filibuster. But it's not impossible. So two Republicans have already sponsored it. That would be Susan Collins of Maine and Rob Portman of Ohio. To go along with them, Tom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have also signaled their support of the bill.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, on the flip side, other GOP senators, including Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and Kevin Kramer, have made it clear that they're not going to vote for it. So it could come down to a pretty narrow vote.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Even so, just to be clear, failing to pass would not actually have any effect on existing marriages or people's ability to get married. That's right. It wouldn't. This vote would largely be symbolic. But what it is is a good indicator of where we are in marriage in 2022.
--:-- Megan Basham: All right. Well, Megan, thanks so much for reporting. That was Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Coming up, President Biden announces new measures on climate change. If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter available exclusively to Daily Wire members. Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe. Use code Morning Wire to try a Reader Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
--:-- John Bickley: President Biden was in Massachusetts on Wednesday to announce new measures to fight climate change While falling short of calling a national emergency, he laid out several measures to combat the massive heat wave across America. The speech comes in the wake of West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin shutting down hopes of Congress passing larger climate change action out of fears about the impact on the economy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to join us and discuss this is columnist David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Good morning.
--:-- John Bickley: So what did Biden announce yesterday?
--:-- David Marcus: These were not huge actions. Greta Thunberg isn't exactly going to say mission accomplished here. You know, there's money for cooling centers for places in America dealing with extreme heat. It rolls back some Trump era policies, but it fell short of calling this a national emergency, which maybe could give Biden more room to do bigger things.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The announcement came at a time when we're seeing record-breaking temperatures across the globe. Did that play into the administration's thinking here?
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, Democrats see this heat wave, not just here in the U.S., where 100 million Americans were under a heat warning this week, but also in Europe and Asia, as evidence that we need to do more to combat climate change. The attitude of Republicans is more along the lines of, it's summer, it gets hot. And whichever side is right, the political reality is the polling shows this issue is just not on the radar of voters.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Only 3% of Democrats even think this is the top problem that needs to be dealt with. So these executive actions are being taken because, once again, Senator Joe Manchin is bucking the Democratic Party and refusing to sign onto a larger climate change package.
--:-- David Marcus: Was there a reason to believe he might be on board this time?
--:-- Georgia Howe: There really wasn't. And Biden just can't get off this merry-go-round. I mean, Manchin has been accused of being like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown as he tries to kick it. But there's a couple of things on this. I mean, first, all of this has been happening over and over since Biden became president. With the exception of infrastructure, Manchin has been a solid no on Biden's agenda.
--:-- John Bickley: And more broadly, he says he's willing to talk. Look, he's a moderate Democrat from a very red state.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Biden appeared at a former coal plant that has now been repurposed. there was some planned significance there, right?
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, look, the administration is very much about turning to renewable energy sources and away from fossil fuels. At least those that are produced in America, Saudi oil seems to be fine for Biden. But yeah, I mean, the message was this is the future.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And it came just a day after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that high gas prices have a silver lining in that it encourages people to buy electric vehicles. But critics really panned that as tone deaf, since EVs are very expensive, arguably a luxury item that's being subsidized by the government.
--:-- David Marcus: Now, Biden has promised that there are more executive actions to come on climate change. Do we know what he has in mind?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Not really. He's very limited in terms of what he can do without Congress. If he pulls the trigger on the actual emergency order, he has more tools. But most of them involve limiting oil production. And with gas prices where they are, I mean, they just might not want to do that.
--:-- David Marcus: Well, David, thank you for joining us today.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- John Bickley: Controversial Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has dropped the murder charges against Jose Alba, the bodega clerk who was seen on camera defending himself from an attacker. The initial charges brought by Bragg were met with immediate backlash, eventually prompting the district attorney to dismiss the charges.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to discuss the situation is Daily Wire senior editor Ash Short.
--:-- Ash Short: So Ash why did the DA reverse course?
--:-- Georgia Howe: He didn't explicitly say but he did face calls to dismiss the charges from prominent New York City politicians, including those who supported his campaign, such as New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
--:-- Ash Short: And in the DA's motion to dismiss the charges, Bragg's office said they couldn't prove that the bodega clerk, quote, was not justified in his use of deadly physical force.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So we reported last week that Alba was attacked by 35-year-old Austin Simon, a man with 27 previous arrests after a disagreement with Simon's girlfriend. And Alba had been arrested for killing Simon and actually spent a week in Rikers on a second-degree murder charge.
--:-- Ash Short: But a lot of people rallied around him saying that what they saw in that video footage was self-defense. Right. Video surveillance showed Simon going behind the counter of the bodega where Alba worked and shoving him. Simon also stood over Alba, threatening him. When Alba tried to escape the situation, the younger man grabbed him from behind, at which point Alba swung his arm and stabbed Simon several times with a box cutter. Simon later died of his injuries.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And during the attack, Simon's girlfriend also allegedly stabbed Alba with a knife she was carrying, but she was never charged.
--:-- Ash Short: Right. So the vast majority of people who saw the video, including Mayor Eric Adams, saw a man defending himself. Is that what led to the charges being dropped?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, Adams was the most prominent person to defend Alba, calling him a hardworking, honest New Yorker who defended himself from an attacker. But he added that he couldn't dictate how D.A. Bragg should handle the case.
--:-- Ash Short: Other politicians also pushed back, including a bipartisan group of city council members who wrote a letter saying the D.A., quote, not only protects violent criminals, but actively seeks to destroy the lives of crime victims. They were referencing Bragg's controversial policies that began as soon as he took office.
--:-- Georgia Howe: At that time, he sent a memo outlining his principles, which included policies that gave more leniency to violent offenders. And with major crimes up 37% this year, those policies are becoming more and more unpopular with New Yorkers.
--:-- Ash Short: Well, and those policies are actually what Bragg campaigned on though, correct?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. He campaigned on economic justice and ending cash bail, which in practice has resulted in criminals being released for political or racial equity purposes.
--:-- Ash Short: And just a note on that, in the Jose Alba case, the attacker Austin Simon was black, as was his girlfriend, whereas Alba is Latino. And commenters were quick to speculate that the race of the individuals involved was a factor in Bragg's decision to charge Alba harshly.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Further, Simon's girlfriend has not yet been charged, and D.A. Bragg has given no indication that she will be, likely for political reasons.
--:-- Ash Short: All right, well, Ash, thanks for updating us on that case.
--:-- John Bickley: You're welcome.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Other stories we're tracking this week. The first lady of Ukraine, Olenna Zelenska, met with President Biden on Tuesday and addressed Congress on Wednesday in an effort to gain support for her country in the war with Russia.
--:-- John Bickley: Several California state colleges are reinstating indoor mask mandates as COVID cases rise in the Golden State.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Trump-endorsed candidate Dan Cox won the Republican nomination for governor in Maryland on Tuesday. The Democratic primary is still too close to call.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and you stand with our mission, please consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
