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Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin confronts Marco Rubio on calling same-sex marriage vote 'stupid waste of time'

Baldwin is the first known gay politician elected to the US Senate
Tammy Baldwin Marco Rubio
Posted at 4:48 PM, Jul 22, 2022
and last updated 2022-07-22 19:48:32-04

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin who also happens to be gay, heard Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio call the vote to codify same-sex marriage a "stupid waste of time" on Wednesday as the two entered an elevator.

Sen. Baldwin, who, according to CNN, is the first known gay politician to be elected to the U.S. Senate, responded to the comment from Sen. Rubio, telling CNN, "You probably would have loved to be on the elevator to see the exchange after."

She told CNN on Thursday after being asked if she spoke to him about the remark: "Of course I did."

Sen. Baldwin wouldn't share what Sen. Rubio said during the exchange, which wasn't public, but she did share that she explained to him that "The recent Supreme Court decision eroded a constitutional right to privacy. There's a whole bunch of cases that have been decided based on a constitutional right to privacy that are in jeopardy."

She said that Rubio disagreed with her position and said that she plans to speak more to him about the matter.

Some Senators, including Rubio, have expressed their belief that a bill to codify same-sex marriage is "unnecessary," saying that there is no threat to same-sex marriage after the Supreme Court's opinion outlined how their abortion ruling was related to the right to privacy, but that it was somehow separate to how same-sex marriage involves the right to privacy.