Current Affairs

Clinton and Sanders praise Democrats blocking anti-gay law by talking non-stop for 38 HOURS

  • Mar 09 2016
  • Written by Nick Duffy
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Democratic Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have praised lawmakers in Missouri who are filibustering an anti-gay law – by talking non-stop for over 36 hours.

Senate Joint Resolution 39, which is backed by the state’s Republican majority, would add a constitutional amendment protecting individuals who want to discriminate against married same-sex couples on the ground of religion.

The law would ban the government from pursuing any “penalty” against those who discriminate, as long as they have “a sincere religious belief concerning marriage between two persons of the same sex.”

The bill came to the floor at 4:20 PM on Monday – but the measure has been met with resistance from the state’s Democratic Senators, who have been attempting to block the legislation by filibustering – talking non-stop in an effort to halt the legislation.

The party’s Senators have talked it out for over 36 hours and counting without a break, refusing to bow to pressure and preventing the law from coming to a vote. Many of the lawmakers have not slept or showered, with Senator Jason Holsman joking: “I’m probably pretty rank at this point”.

The action to block the law has been met with applause by Democrats nationally – with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both praising their efforts.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tweeted: “Marriage equality is the law. I stand with those filibustering in MO to make sure discrimination won’t be. -H”

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders added:  “Standing up for our LGBTQ sisters and brothers is the duty of all elected officials. This should make us all proud.”

Under the Missouri Senate’s rules, the lawmakers are able to prevent the law from coming to a vote – and their speeches do not need to be relevant to the topic.

So far, Senators have talked about everything from food to their childhood – with Democratic Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal speaking at length about her love of playing dominoes.

She said 17 hours in: “I can do this all day… this is my prime time.”

Senator Chappelle-Nadal appears to be slightly worse for wear on the night shift – continuing to talk out the bill on Tuesday night.

The Senator has been live-tweeting throughout the filibuster:

JoDee Winterhof of the Human Rights Campaign said: “These Missouri Senate Democrats working throughout the night to stop this outrageous assault on LGBT Missourians and their families are our heroes.

“This resolution has nothing to do with religious liberty and everything to do with enshrining anti-LGBT discrimination into the Missouri Constitution.
Clinton and Sanders praise Democrats blocking anti-gay law by talking non-stop for 38 HOURS
“We are incredibly grateful for these state senators who are standing up against overwhelming odds to proclaim that hate and discrimination are not Missouri values.”

The record for a filibuster in the state is 38 hours – which could be shattered if the Democrats keep up their blockade.

Click here to listen to audio from the Senate.

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