South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace is facing criticism after posting “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” on X, a message that went viral with more than 8.7 million views and reignited debate about her record on same-sex marriage.
The October 28 post was quickly community noted for context that Mace “repeatedly voted for gay marriage and touted it as a vote to ‘protect marriage’” in 2022, linking to official House records and her press release at the time.
In 2022, Mace supported the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. “Today’s vote to protect marriage and protect religious liberties marks the end of a long fight for the basic civil right for any two people to marry without discrimination,” she said in a press release that year.
Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) October 28, 2025
Shifting Sentiments?
Some have viewed the congresswoman’s recent remarks as a reversal on the issue or at least a reflection of shifting sentiments within her party.
A Gallup report published May 29, 2025, found that Republican support for same-sex marriage has dropped 14 points since 2022, from a majority of 55% to 41%, marking its lowest level since 2016.
Nationally, support for same-sex marriage remains steady at 68%, but Gallup noted that the apparent stability “masks deepening partisan divides.”
Democrats’ support reached a record 88%, while independents held at 76%. Republicans’ support, however, “has gradually edged down” over the past three years.
The report also found that only 38% of Republicans currently consider gay or lesbian relations “morally acceptable,” compared with 86% of Democrats, the widest gap since Gallup began tracking the measure.
Gay Rights Organizations Break Away from “LGBTQIA+” Banner
Mace’s comments come as the national conversation about LGBTQ issues has evolved, with much of the political focus in recent years turning toward “transgender” policy and identity. That shift has contributed to growing divisions within both parties and even among gay rights groups themselves.
A coalition of international gay rights organizations launched a “declaration of independence” separating lesbian, gay, and bisexual causes from the broader “LGBTQIA+” banner, a recent DX report detailed. The leadership of the new group, LGB International, accused major legacy organizations of being “entirely devoted to ‘gender identity ideology,’” arguing that “we risk losing our hard-won rights.”
Frederick Schminke, chairman of LGB International, said the coalition formed because the “organizations that once represented gay people are now entirely devoted to ‘gender identity ideology.’” Bev Jackson, co-founder of the LGB Alliance, added that gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals are “sick of seeing our movement, their language, and their rights stripped away.”
This broader context has shaped Mace’s rhetoric in recent months.
Mace has expressed frustration with “transgender” policy, most notably during a February 2025 House Oversight Committee hearing, where she drew headlines for using a slur to describe “transgender” individuals.
“Does this advance the interest of American citizens — paying for trannies in Guatemala to the tune of $2 million?” Mace asked during the hearing, referring to USAID programs, DX reported.
When reprimanded, Mace doubled down: “Tranny, tranny, tranny! I don’t really care. You want penises in women’s bathrooms, and I’m not gonna have it.”
At the time, Mace said she would not be “counseled by a man over men and women’s spaces or men who have mental health issues dressing as women.”
Supreme Court May Revisit Obergefell
The renewed controversy over homosexual marital unions comes as the Supreme Court prepares to consider whether to take up former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis’ case challenging the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
The justices will privately discuss the case on November 7, and a decision on whether to hear it could come as early as November 10.
Homosexual organizations have so far not filed briefs in opposition to Davis’ appeal. The only entity forcefully opposing Davis’s appeal in briefs is the homosexual couple that initially sued her, DX reported.
The timing has intensified scrutiny of Mace’s comments, as questions over the future of same-sex marriage return to the national stage.
Gallup’s report concluded that “although Democrats’ and independents’ support continues to rise or hold steady, Republicans’ support … has fallen each of the past three years,” warning that the widening partisan divide “suggests potential vulnerabilities in the durability of LGBTQ+ rights.”