Forty-seven House Republicans voted Tuesday in support of a Democrat-backed bill to codify same-sex marriage into federal law.

The bill, dubbed the Respect for Marriage Act, passed the House of Representatives 267 to 157. All 220 Democrats voted in favor. Seven Republicans abstained.

The Respect for Marriage Act would formally repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which recognized marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.” The 1996 law was effectively invalidated by the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, but it has remained on the books.

One of the 47 was my Congressman, Bryan Steil.

And now the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson signaled Thursday that he would vote for legislation to codify same-sex marriage into federal law.

That would be a key vote as Democrats try to move the legislation through Congress.

In a statement, Johnson said he wouldn’t oppose the Respect for Marriage Act if it comes up for a vote in the U.S. Senate, even though he said the bill is unnecessary.

The Democratic push to codify same-sex marriage is occurring in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal last month of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision protecting abortion rights.

Which begs an interesting question, posed by Nate Jackson, managing editor of The Patriot Post:

Why are so many Republicans now on board with the Left’s sexual agenda?

His answer:

At least in the case of marriage, the primary reason is probably stability. If the Supreme Court was ever to “reconsider” its Obergefell ruling the way Justice Clarence Thomas suggested while overturning Roe v. Wade, the societal implications would be large and few Republicans have the stomach for that — even after spending 50 years working to win on life.

The other big reason is simply political. As noted above, public opinion on same-sex marriage has swung wildly in favor of the Left’s redefinition, including among Republican voters. Therefore, these 47 Republicans concluded, it’s not worth giving Democrats a wedge issue before an election that should be a red wave. It’s not worth jeopardizing a seat in a swing district. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is well aware of this calculation.

Finally, an increasing number of conservative voices are either homosexual or pro-homosexual. This has influenced especially the younger generation to simply accept the Left’s redefinition of marriage as the end of the matter. Cultural conservatism is in some ways becoming less important to conservatives.

As our Jordan Candler put it, “Sure, indulging in the desires of the flesh might not seem as terrible a sin as killing an unborn baby, but there’s a tendency among folks on the Right to acquiesce to the Left when it comes to a certain cultural hot-button issue whose ramifications flood downstream.”

The problem with this acquiescence is that conservatives conserve things. It’s what we do. We fight for faith, family, and freedom because those things are the basis for most of what is good in this world. Our Creator designed us for all three, and we should defend them without hesitation or shame, no matter what the polling says. The truth hasn’t changed. Neither should we.