In a largely party-line vote Wednesday, Washington state lawmakers passed a bill that would make same-sex marriage legal in the Evergreen State.
The measure passed 55 - 43, with two Republicans joining 53 Democrats in voting for the bill. Two Democrats also crossed party lines to join 41 Republicans in opposition.
Washington Governor Christine Gregoire - a Democrat - was expected to sign the bill early next week, perhaps on Valentine's Day, Reuters reports.
The Daily Caller noted:
Gregoire watched from the wings with the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Ed Murray of Seattle, a gay lawmaker who has spearheaded the domestic partnership and marriage push in the Legislature.
“I’m happy,” Murray said after the vote. “It’s a great day for families across the state. It’s a great day for my family.”
But opponents of the measure plan to fight the bill with a ballot measure that will let Washington voters ultimately decide the issue.
The Daily Caller noted that if opponents can "gather enough signatures to take their fight to the ballot box, the law would be put on hold pending the outcome of a November election."
If not, gay couples can start getting married next June.
Last week, the state Senate approved the bill, with Sen. Mike Padden (R-Spokane Valley) voting against it.
According to Reuters, the debate got heated at times:
Debate grew emotional at times, with the bill's chief House sponsor, Representative Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat who has four young children with his gay companion of 10 years, arguing that the state's domestic-partnership law falls short.
"I would like our four children to understand ... that their daddy and their papa have made that lifelong commitment to each other," he said. "Thousands of same-sex couples in our state deserve the respect and protection from our government that only marriage can convey."
Representative Jay Rodne, a Republican who said he was guided by his Roman Catholic faith to oppose gay marriage, decried the bill as tantamount to "progressive reengineering in its most extreme and damaging form."
"This bill is about validation. This bill is about acceptance ... Marriage is not about self-actualization, validation or acceptance," he said. "Marriage is about life."
The vote comes one day after a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a voter-approved measure banning gay marriage in California.
Reuters, citing "legal experts," said the ruling "could ease the way for a successful court challenge in Washington state should voters there overturn a gay marriage statute."
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