The bill to protect same-sex weddings is gaining support among Republicans in the Senate

By Rebecca Shabad and Sahil Kapur -

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday he wants to bring the bill protecting same-sex marriage to a vote on the floor after the House passed it on Tuesday, but he must first make sure you get enough Republican support.

Schumer said Democrat Tammy Baldwin, the first openly LGBTQ senator, is negotiating with Republicans to determine whether at least 10 of them will support the bill.

With those votes, plus all those of the Democrats, the 60 necessary to pass the bill, which Biden would sign, would be reached.

The House approved the project on Tuesday with 267 votes in favor and 157 against;

47 Republicans joined the unanimous support of the Democrats, who have a majority.

The measure would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996,

and add legal protections for same-sex married couples.

Democrats are trying to pass this legislation after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in an opinion in the decision that overturned the constitutional right to abortion last month, spoke about the possibility of also revoking the right to marriage between people of the same sex.

This would occur by overturning a 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized it.

The House also plans to take up a bill to protect access to birth control, which is also at risk, later this week.

It has already approved a project to shield the right to abortion, which is now stalled in the Senate.

Rob Zajdel, 28, left, and Danny Drees, 27, both from Washington, at a rally for abortion rights and marriage equality Saturday, May 14, 2022, in front of the White House.Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Schumer said Wednesday that he was "really impressed" by the number of Republicans who supported the same-sex marriage bill in the House.

"I want to bring this project to the floor, we are working to obtain the necessary Republican support for it to be approved," he said.

Republican Senator Rob Portman will co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act in the Senate, his spokesman told NBC News.

Portman expressed her support for legalizing same-sex marriage in 2013 after her son told her he is gay.

Senator Susan Collins also supports the project, but at least eight more Republican votes are missing.

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Republican Sen. Thom Tillis told reporters he would "probably" vote for it if he ran.

And his partner Lisa Murkowski also held the door open to support him.

Murkowski said he not only supports upholding previous Supreme Court rulings protecting abortion rights and access to birth control: “I also made my support for gay marriage clear years ago.

So I'll look at what the House is doing and see what that could mean in the Senate."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell declined to say whether he would support the bill.

"I'm going to delay announcing anything on that subject until we see what the Majority Leader wants to bring to the table," he told reporters.

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Some Republican senators, including

, told NBC News that

.

Others, including Mitt Romney, Joni Ernst and Cynthia Lummis, declined to comment on the bills before reviewing the text.

When asked if they personally believed that these rights should be protected, they did not respond either.

Lauren McKillip, left, with her daughter Thea McKillip, 2, and her wife Marissa McKillip, with their son Lincoln McKillip, 4, from Crofton, Maryland, join a march for abortion rights and same-sex marriage in Washington.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

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Several Republicans downplayed Thomas's opinion on revising these rights, telling NBC News that same-sex marriage is protected by the Supreme Court and they don't think it's currently under threat.

“

,” Republican Mike Rounds said.