Washington is on track to become the seventh US state to allow same-sex marriage after a vote by lawmakers. A bill permitting gay and lesbian couples to wed was approved by 28 votes to 21.
The Associated Press reports:
The Washington state Senate has passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, bringing the state a step closer to becoming the seventh to allow lesbian and gay couples to wed. But the threat of a ballot challenge looms.
The packed public galleries burst into applause as the Senate passed the measure on a 28-21 vote Wednesday night after nearly an hour and a half of debate. Four Republicans crossed party lines and voted with majority Democrats for the measure. Three Democrats voted against it.
The measure now heads to the House, which is expected to approve it and could take action on it as early as next week. Gov. Chris Gregoire supports the measure and has said she will sign it into law, though opponents have promised to challenge it at the ballot with a referendum.
Democratic Sen. Ed Murray, the bill’s sponsor, said he knew same-sex marriage “is as contentious as any issue that this body has considered in its history.”
Lawmakers who vote against gay marriage “are not, nor should they be accused of bigotry,” he said.
“Those of us who support this legislation are not, and we should not be accused of, undermining family life or religious freedom,” said Murray, a gay lawmaker from Seattle who has spearheaded past gay rights and domestic partnership laws in the state. “Marriage is how society says you are a family.”
Read the full article via THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
