Who is Vicky Hartzler? Congresswoman sobs as she begs colleagues to vote against same-sex marriage bill
HARRISONVILLE, MISSOURI: GOP congresswoman broke down on the House floor as she spoke against the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act. Rep Vicky Hartzler of Missouri on Thursday, December 8, begged her colleagues to vote against the bipartisan bill aimed at protecting same-sex marriage.
"I hope and pray that my colleagues will find the courage to join me in opposing this misguided and this dangerous bill," Hartzler said through tears. The 62-year-old Republican spent the first two minutes of her speech bashing the bill, claiming its "only purpose is to hand the federal government a legal bludgeoning tool to drive people of faith out of the public square and silence anyone who dissents."
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Hartzler says her priority is protecting people who believe in the true meaning of marriage and then starts to cry while she asks for her colleagues to vote against marriage equality pic.twitter.com/yk7loKCd4G
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 8, 2022
The Respect for Marriage Act requires states to recognize any marriage made in another state and repeals the federal "Defense of Marriage Act" which previously defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Hartzler slammed the bill by calling it "unnecessary and said that "Obergefell is not in danger" a reference to the Supreme Court's ruling in the Obergefell v Hodges case in 2015 that requires all states to recognize same-sex marriages and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Who is Vicky Hartzler?
Vicky Jo Hartzler serves as the US representative for Missouri's 4th congressional district since 2011. She is the first Republican to represent the district since 1955. She was also the second Republican woman elected to Congress from Missouri, after Jo Ann Emerson, with whom she served from 2011 to 2013. she served as the Missouri state representative for the 124th district from 1995 to 2000. Before running for state representative in 1994, Hartzler taught high school home economics for 11 years.
"I am proud to have successfully led the call urging President Biden to immediately end consideration of banning commercial production of certain types of 5.56 caliber ammunition at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Missouri," reads her website. This is not Hartzler's first time opposing against the expansion of marriage protection. Prior to her time in Congress, Hartzler vehemently pushed for an amendment to be added to Missouri's constitution that would define marriage as between a man and a woman. Hartzler, who's been in Congress since 2011, will not be returning in 2023, after losing her campaign for an open Senate seat to the Republican primary to Eric S Schmitt.