Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Gay marriage wins final legislative passage in Washington state

A Democratic-backed bill to legalize gay marriage in Washington state won final legislative approval on Wednesday in a largely party-line vote that moved the state one step closer to becoming the seventh to recognize same-sex nuptials.

Governor Christine Gregoire, a Democrat in her last term of office, was expected to sign the gay marriage bill into law early next week, but opponents have vowed to seek its repeal at the polls in November.

The measure cleared the state House of Representatives by a vote of 55-43, a week after it was passed by the state Senate and a day after a federal appeals court declared California's voter-approved gay marriage ban unconstitutional.

Democrats, accounting for the lion's share of support for the bill, control both legislative bodies in Olympia but enjoy a bigger majority in the 98-seat House. Two Republicans joined 53 Democrats in voting for the bill, while two Democrats sided with 41 Republicans in opposition.


Six other states already recognize same-sex marriage -- New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Iowa -- as does the District of Columbia.

Supporters are pushing similar statutes in Maryland and New Jersey, and a referendum to legalize gay marriage in Maine has qualified for the November ballot there.

Gay rights advocates won another victory on Tuesday when a federal appeals court declared a voter-passed ban on same-sex marriages in California to be unconstitutional.

No comments:

Post a Comment