U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) argues throwing support behind turning the Respect to Marriage Act into the law of the land should strike most as a no-brainer.
“Whether it’s a family member, a friend or a staffer we all know someone who is in a same-sex or interracial marriage,” Baldwin recently tweeted. “That’s why I’m working across party lines to ensure their marriages are protected.”
With the measure having already easily passed the Senate 61-36, a full House vote looms as the next final step in enacting the legislation as a replacement to The Defense of Marriage Act, which has stood as law over the last quarter century in defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman and gives states the authority to refuse to honor same-sex unions performed in other states.
Under the Respect Act, marriage equality would be recognized as a federal statute, meaning marriages between same-sex and interracial couples would also be legally protected anywhere across the country. While states still will not be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, The Washington Post reports such unions would be legally protected, including in instances where they were performed in other states.
After serving six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the Wisconsin State Assembly, Baldwin’s current term runs through 2025, after she was last elected in 2018.
