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 didn't just disrupt abortion access across the country. It also raised concerns that other landmark rulings — including those legalizing birth control and same-sex marriage — 

While Justice Samuel Alito stressed in his opinion that the legal logic behind the 

 decision would not apply to other cases, Justice Clarence Thomas has suggested otherwise. He wrote in his concurring opinion that future cases "should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents," specifically listing those that protect contraception, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage. 

 into law, starting with marriage equality.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., is at the forefront of that effort in the Senate. 

The task is especially personal for Baldwin, who 

 as the country's first openly gay person (and first Wisconsin woman) to be elected to the Senate. 

"There's an old adage that if you're not in the room the conversation is about you, if you're in the room the conversation is with you — and that makes all the difference," Baldwin says. "I'm experiencing that right now. People who might have said this is just a political issue understand that for somebody in the LGBTQ community, it's a personal matter."

 across the U.S. — one that plaintiff Jim Obergefell now worries is on shaky ground. He's one of many LGBTQ advocates who wants Congress to protect these rights at the federal level. 

"If Congress can't step up and say, these are the rights we believe in, these are the fundamental rights, the human rights, the civil rights that deserve protection, if not from the Supreme Court under law, then what is worth fighting for?" 

The Respect for Marriage Act, which would enshrine same-sex and interracial marriage in federal law, 

 last week. While 47 Republicans voted in favor, other GOP critics have portrayed the bill as unnecessary, dismissing it as election-year politics and downplaying the threat of future Supreme Court action. 

The bill now faces the challenge of getting through an equally divided Senate, where 60 votes are needed to overcome a filibuster. All Democrats are already on board, and 

 to send it to his desk for a signature as swiftly as possible. 

Baldwin is leading the charge to secure the 10 Republican votes needed to pass the measure. She's been 

 to try to whip up support from her Republican colleagues, including 

 on an elevator after overhearing him call the bill "a stupid waste of time."

She says five Republican senators have signaled their support so far, and is optimistic that others will follow. 

"The conversations are very hopeful, and I will say that a number of Republicans have privately agreed to support the bill, but not publicly," she tells 

's Leila Fadel. "And so we don't want to bring it to the floor until we know that we can pass the legislation, with the 60 requisite votes." 

Politics and Government News

Rachel Treisman

Author

Baldwin, the first openly gay person elected to the Senate, is leading the charge to secure the 10 Republican votes needed for a filibuster-proof majority to pass a bill codifying marriage equality. 

Democrats' push to protect same-sex marriage is personal for Sen. Tammy Baldwin

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