Skip to content

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
      • Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito argued abortion isn’t an economic issue. But is that true?

        Chabeli Carrazana · May 4
      • Pregnant people are at 'greater risk' in states hit hard by wildfire smoke, air pollution, new report shows

        Jessica Kutz · April 20
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
      • Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s swearing in makes history during unprecedented time for the Supreme Court

        Candice Norwood · June 30
      • Biden’s new environmental justice office aims to tackle the health impacts disproportionately faced by people of color

        Jessica Kutz · June 2
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: Why some trigger laws still aren’t in effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned

        Jasmine Mithani · July 6
      • The 19th Explains: How pregnant people can prepare for a summer of heat waves

        Jessica Kutz · June 17
      • The 19th Explains: How new Title IX guidelines on sexual misconduct may give more help to survivors

        Nadra Nittle · June 14
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
      • Woman alleges that an assisted living facility denied her admission because she is transgender

        Sara Luterman · November 8
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • ‘There are a lot of people who don’t want to know the truth’: Why an Arizona election official is leaving her job

        Barbara Rodriguez · July 18
      • Abortion is directly on the ballot in at least five states this year

        Barbara Rodriguez · July 15
      • States add early voting, and women could benefit — but it’s complicated

        Barbara Rodriguez · June 16

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Elections 2022
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Donate to get our member newsletter

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin in a blue suit
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, is the first out LGBTQ+ member of the Senate. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

LGBTQ+

How the country’s first openly gay senator is asking GOP colleagues to back marriage equality

Ten Republican senators need to support the Respect for Marriage Act to ensure passage.

Orion Rummler

Breaking News Reporter

Orion Rummler headshot

Published

2022-07-29 05:00
5:00
July 29, 2022
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Sen. Tammy Baldwin wants her Republican colleagues to understand the dire consequences of losing access to same-sex marriage. 

Baldwin, the country’s first openly gay senator, has taken the lead on trying to convince her colleagues to vote to protect marriage equality — seven years after that right was seemingly settled by the Supreme Court.  

“There will be constituents of every senator who take this vote very personally,” Baldwin told The 19th in an interview on Wednesday. 

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

LGBTQ+ advocates and legal experts fear Obergefell v. Hodges, the ruling that secured marriage equality for Americans, could be on the chopping block after the fall of Roe v. Wade. 

That’s where Baldwin said she usually starts her appeal. 

“I think a number of my colleagues are first questioning the timing of this and so I’m walking through why we’re bringing this up now, in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court and placing in jeopardy a number of rights and freedoms that were decided based on the same reasoning,” Baldwin said. 

Baldwin said she stresses to her colleagues just how important it is for Americans to have certainty in their marriages. 

  • More from The 19th
    Cropped shot of two unrecognisable women exchanging rings on their wedding day
  • A new bill aims to protect same-sex marriage. What would it do if Obergefell falls?
  • What will happen if Obergefell is overturned? Queer legal experts are scrambling
  • From marriage equality to interracial marriage, Supreme Court conservatives appear divided on handling civil rights after Roe decision

“The idea that you might in the future lose that recognition has huge consequences,” she said. “I think lots of folks think more about the ceremony or the wedding cake than they do the idea that if you are not married, you’re a legal stranger,” she said. 

One consequence that’s on Baldwin’s mind: If someone’s spouse or partner gets hospitalized after an accident, being in an unrecognized marriage means having no right to information about their condition or to be at their bedside. 

The House took protective action this month, with 47 Republicans backing a Democrat-led bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and require that all states legally recognize LGBTQ+ marriages that take place in other states. This legislation would set up a fail-safe route to marriage equality even if Obergefell is overturned. In the Senate, at least 10 Republicans need to get on board for the bill to succeed.

Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, plus Republican Sens. Rob Portman, Thom Tillis and Susan Collins have joined Baldwin’s effort to recruit Republican support for the bill.  Five Senate Republicans have backed the bill publicly, and Baldwin said on Wednesday that more had have privately expressed their support — inching the total tally “very close” to 10 senators.

But Collins reportedly said on Thursday that the timing of Democrats’ deal on a bill aiming to curb the federal deficit, fight climate change and cut health care costs could jeopardize efforts to win Republican support for the Respect for Marriage Act.

Baldwin said that while sentiments in the Senate toward marriage equality have changed since she was sworn in in 2013, especially since more of her GOP colleagues know LGBTQ+ friends and family directly impacted by their policy positions on it, the chamber has not moved quickly enough to match public opinion. 

A record 71 percent of Americans now support LGBTQ+ marriage – an indicator that has grown year over year. 

“Arguably the Senate hasn’t progressed quite as fast as the American public has on this issue, but we’re getting there,” she said. 

With the Defense of Marriage Act still on the books, the federal government would not recognize LGBTQ+ marriages if Obergefell is overturned — unless the Respect for Marriage Act is passed.  

A newsletter you can relate to

Storytelling that represents you, delivered to your inbox.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Twenty-five states have both a constitutional amendment and statute banning marriage for same-sex couples, per the Movement Advancement Project, which tracks LGBTQ+ rights nationally. Five other states ban LGBTQ+ marriage through constitutional amendment, and five more have statute bans.

The bill Baldwin and her colleagues want would offer interstate and federal protections for same-sex marriage, although it would still allow states to deny couples the ability to marry within their own state if Obergefell were overturned, LGBTQ+ experts told The 19th. Americans would be able to travel to another state to get married and their home state would have to recognize that marriage — but having to travel would still present obstacles to LGBTQ+ people of color and transgender people. 

Baldwin hopes the Senate will be able to take up the Respect for Marriage Act for a vote before a month-long recess begins on August 8. 

Until then, she’ll keep appealing to her colleagues — which sometimes involves invoking their personal relationships with LGBTQ+ people in their lives, although that’s not where she typically starts the conversation.

“We’re very close to 10, which is what we need to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. But I think I will keep on going beyond 10, just as extra insurance,” she said. 

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Support The 19th

As a nonprofit newsroom, members are critical to our sustainability. Your financial support helps make our journalism possible.

Become a Member

Donate to support our mission

Up Next

Vice President Kamala Harris wears a blue suit and black mask as she speaks at an event.

Politics

Why Vice President Kamala Harris mentioned her blue suit at a disability rights meeting

Harris met with disability rights leaders to mark the anniversary of the ADA. So why are we talking about her suit?

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Subscribe to the Newsletter
  • Attend an Event
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram