Washington Marriage Bill's Passage Could Come This Week

The Washington legislature is poised to send a marriage equality bill this week to the desk of Gov. Chris Gregoire, who has vowed to sign it.

Just days after the state Senate passed the bill by a 28-21 vote, the Associated Press reports a floor vote in the House could come as early as Wednesday. The bill, which would make Washington the seventh state plus the District of Columbia to establish marriage rights for same-sex couples, is expected to pass by a wide margin.

Anti-gay marriage groups are vowing a ballot box fight come November, however.

If groups can gather enough signatures for an initiative or a referendum on the issue, Washington would join a handful of states, including North Carolina and Minnesota, where marriage rights are being put up to a vote in 2012. "The people will have final say, and they will reject same-sex marriage," National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown asserted in an interview with The Advocate last month.