Senate on verge of history with same-sex marriage vote

The Senate is set to move Wednesday toward enshrining marriage equality into federal law, a historic moment that elected leaders across the political spectrum say represents a milestone for Congress and the nation.

“Just a few years ago, there would not be the support there is today for protecting the marriages of people in interracial and same-sex marriages,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who led the charge to pass the Respect for Marriage Act in the Senate, said Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s first procedural vote on the measure.

Baldwin, who in 2012 became the first openly gay person elected to the upper chamber, said the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, has been instrumental in changing the “hearts and minds” of those previously opposed to gay unions.