Sen. Tammy Baldwin speaks on passing of Respect for Marriage Act

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The U.S. Senate passed a landmark bill to protect same sex marriage Tuesday.

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin was a part of the 61 senators that voted in favor of the bill and was one of the co-authors of the Respect for Marriage Act.

The bill now heads to the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives with a final vote likely coming next week.

The act is meant to protect same-sex marriage if the Supreme Court were to overturn the 2015 decision to legalize it.

Twelve Republicans crossed the aisle to join all members of the Democratic caucus to pass the legislation.

Baldwin said getting enough support from the other side was key in avoiding a potential filibuster.

“I immediately reached out to several of my Republican friends who I knew had been strong supporters,” Baldwin said. “We formed a small core group… and began building on that support really through the painstaking work of one by one conversations.”

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson was among the 36 who voted against the bill. There were three abstentions.

“Religious liberty should be upheld for all and those with sincerely held religious beliefs should not be discriminated against for their views on marriage,” Johnson said in a statement. “I supported my GOP colleagues’ amendments that would have added religious liberty protections to the bill... however, they were not adopted.”

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