The Senate Democrat leading the effort to pass legislation protecting same-sex marriage plans to hold off until after the midterm elections, apparently heeding the advice of a retiring Republican. "If I wanted to pass that, and I was the majority leader and I wanted to get as many votes as I could possibly get, I'd wait until after the election to have the vote," Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt told reporters. If 10 Republicans back the bill, a filibuster couldn't stop it, the Hill reports. And they wouldn't worry about their supporters punishing GOP candidates in the midterms, per NBC News.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who's managing the effort, has been trying to attract Republican votes with an amendment but has had little luck. The Respect for Marriage Act easily cleared the House in July, with the help of 47 Republican votes. "We're very confident that the bill will pass but we will need a little more time," Baldwin said Thursday. She said she'd like the Senate to vote the day after the midterms, per CNN. Sen. Dick Durbin said some GOP senators are wary of going on the record supporting same-sex marriage now. "More Republicans should have stepped up and said where they stood," he said.
GOP Sen. Susan Collins, a co-sponsor, said she's confident of the bill's chances, especially after the amendment is added. It would specify that no church would be required to perform a same-sex wedding, Collins said, and that the bill would not "legalize polygamous marriages." GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who opposes the bill, said delaying a vote won't make a difference. "I can’t imagine anybody’s undecided about it," he said. (More same-sex marriage stories.)
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