Lindsey Graham: Let states decide on same-sex marriage

North Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, has criticized the effort to codify Obergefell as a distraction.

A bill that seeks to protect same-sex marriage, the Respect for Marriage Act, cleared the House last month with the support of 47 Republicans. Democrats who introduced the bill said that it was necessary after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Roe and Obergefell were decided on the right to privacy.

Appearing Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, Graham said that he thinks states should decide both issues.

"I think states should decide the issue of marriage and states should decide the issue of abortion," he said. "I have respect for South Carolina. South Carolina voters here I trust to define marriage and to deal with the issue of abortion. Not nine people on the court. That's my view."

Graham suggested the effort to codify the high court's 2015 opinion was an attempt to distract from the real issues.

"We're talking about things that don't happen because [Democrats] don't want to talk about inflation, [Democrats] don't want to talk about crime," he said.

He added that he would be a no vote on the bill: "We're talking about constitutional decisions that are still in effect. But if you're going to ask me to have the federal government take over defining marriage, I'm going to say no."

In his concurring opinion to the ruling that overturned Roe, Justice Clarence Thomas called on the court to reconsider Obergefell.