Read time:38 seconds
The state of Washington looks set to become the seventh state in the United States which allows gay marriage. On Wednesday the senate passed a marriage equality bill by 28-21.
With Washington governor Christine Gregoire having already pledged to sign the legislation, the bill is almost certain to pass through the house within a week. Currently Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont (and the district of Washington D.C.) have made gay marriage legal by state law. Washington will become the first West Coast state with marriage equality after a 2008 bill legalising same-sex marriage in California was repealed.
However, even as the bill goes through the house to be passed, rightwing groups are already planning a November referendum to overturn the legislation.
