On Thursday Maryland became the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage as Governor Martin O'Malley signed the bill into law. The Governor, once a supporter of civil unions instead of marriage, by last summer was saying "I have concluded that discriminating against individuals based on their sexual orientation in the context of civil marital rights is unjust." Now opponents are preparing a referendum and are obsessing over its wording before the November election.

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Opponents and supporters of same-sex marriage are fighting over the phrasing of a single paragraph in the war of words to win over voters in the fall when a referendum on gay marriage comes to a head. The paragraph summarizes Referendum 74, which puts to a public vote the gay marriage bill Gov. Chris Gregoire tearfully signed earlier this month. Why in the world would the phrasing of a simple summary be so important?

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An emotional Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed into law a historic measure to make Washington the seventh state to legalize gay marriage. "This is a very proud moment," Gregoire said as applauding gay couples and media from around the country looked on.

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Fred Phelps: fixated on homosexuality.

UPDATE: The Westboro Baptist Church may not picket the funeral of Charlie and Braden Powell after all. In a call to the syndicated radio program The Bobby D Show on Friday morning, church member Fred Phelps Jr. indicated that the church may not show up to the Saturday memorial if the show aired an interview with church members.
Phelps later tweeted, "Washington trip now cancelled."

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Rep. Maureen Walsh, whose daughter came out of the closet a couple of years ago, easily gave the most memorable and heartfelt speech during yesterday's House floor debate on gay marriage. The Walla Walla Republican, her voice breaking at times, offered up a poignant snapshot of her life, her family, the death of her husband -- and why she planned to vote for the same-sex marriage bill.

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UPDATE: The Washington state House this afternoon passed the gay marriage bill by a vote of 55-43. It is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire early next week. Click here for details of today's debate in Seattle PI.com.

Washington's gay-marriage measure should clear its final hurdle this afternoon when the state House votes on the legislation, SB 6239, which the Senate passed 28-21 a week ago. What gives today's session a little extra spice is a proposed amendment to exempt religiously affiliated schools like Gonzaga and Seattle University from having to accommodate gay weddings in their chapels.

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A three-member panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruled that California's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. The federal court said the state cannot prevent gay couples from marrying just because a majority of voters said so. The 2-1 decision is a huge victory for gay-rights advocates. The ruling comes just as Washington is poised to become the seventh state in the union to allow same-sex marriage.

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The gay marriage opposition led by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) believe that the best course of action in derailing same-sex weddings is to mobilize like-minded detractors, fund expensive ad campaigns, and fight like hell to get the issue on the ballot -- here in Washington and across the country.

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In an historic vote last night in Olympia, the Washington state Senate passed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage. The stage is set for the state to become the seventh in the nation to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. The measure now heads to the House, which is expected to approve it by a comfortable margin. Gov. Chris Gregoire came out in support of gay marriage last month after a long "personal journey" and says she will sign the bill into law. Opponents have promised to challenge it at the ballot with a referendum.

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UPDATE: The Washington State Senate has passed the gay-marriage law by a 28-21 margin. The bill will now go to the House where passage is expected to come as soon as next week -- upon which Gov. Chris Gregoire will sign the measure into law.

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