Rep. Vicky Hartzler’s Gay Nephew to His Aunt: You Have to Coexist

Andrew Hartzler, nephew of anti-LGBTQ+ U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri — she is hitched to his father’s brother — recorded his contemplations in a video on TikTok, saying, “Today, a Joined together States congresswoman, my Close relative Vicky, begun crying since cheerful individuals like me can get married.”

He at that point included a clip from her discourse Thursday some time recently the House of Agents voted on the Regard for Marriage Act, which can compose marriage balance into government law. “I trust and supplicate that my colleagues discover the boldness to connect me in restricting this misinformed and this unsafe bill,” Vicky Hartzler said. Andrew Hartzler at that point proceeded, “So in spite of coming out to my close relative this past February, I figure she’s still fair as much as a homophobe.”

After cutting to his close relative saying, “Obergefell [the Supreme Court’s marriage uniformity administering] isn’t in peril, but individuals and educate of confidence are,” Andrew Hartzler came back to counter.

“Aunt Vicky, that’s not right,” he said. “Institutions of confidence like devout colleges are not being quieted. They’re being enabled by the U.S. government to separate against tens of thousands of LGBTQ understudies since of devout exceptions, but they still get government funding.”

And he has coordinate information and encounter of this. Andrew Hartzler is portion of a claim that looks for to conclusion an exception to Title IX approaches, one that permits schools to get government reserves whereas still segregating against understudies based on sexual introduction. He had gone to Verbal Roberts College, a religiously associated school that hones such segregation.

In assist reaction to his aunt’s articulation that the Regard for Marriage Act suggests “submit to our belief system or be silenced,” Andrew Hartzler went to the heart of the matter.

“It’s more like you need the control to constrain your devout convictions onto everybody else, and since you don’t have that control, you are feeling like you’re being hushed, but you’re not. You’re fair gonna need to learn to coexist with all of us,” he said. “And I’m beyond any doubt it’s not that hard.”

In spite of Rep. Hartlzer’s tears, the House passed the Regard for Marriage Act, which can secure same-sex relational unions, ensuring government rights and benefits, as well as revoke the Defense of Marriage Act — DOMA — which anticipated the government government from recognizing them and permitted states to deny acknowledgment to same-sex relational unions performed in other states. DOMA has been unenforceable since the Preeminent Court found it illegal in 2013, but it remains on the books.

The Regard for Marriage Act moreover secures the rights of ensures the rights of interracial couples, guarantees that states will recognize substantial relational unions from other states, and gives for legitimate activity for segregation based on a hitched couple’s personality. The thrust for the act came after Incomparable Court Equity Clarence Thomas encouraged the upsetting of the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges administering, which made marriage uniformity the law of the arrive. The Regard for Marriage Act, which President Joe Biden has guaranteed to sign into law, will keep up marriage uniformity indeed in case the Preeminent Court upsets the choice.