The U.S. state of Washington has moved a significant step closer to over-turning the ban on same-sex marriage, this week.
State Governor Christine Gregoire will finally be able to sign the ban’s repeal into law after it was voted on successfully in the State Senate, last night.
In the vote, the ban was opposed 28 to 21, with Republican senators on both sides of the ballot.
It could still be pushed to a state-wide ballot if the opposition can gain enough support, but it seems unlikely given that companies such as Nike, Microsoft and Starbucks have come out in support of Governor Gregoire’s push.
Governor Gregoire announced that she planned on pushing the bill forward to legalise same-sex marriage at the beginning of the month at a Press Conference in Olympia. When successfully signed, it will become the seventh state to do so.
Although support for same-sex marriage in the US is going strong, there is still a lot of support for the opposition to it.
It is still possible for any state in the country to legalise same-sex marriage, due to a constitutional loop-hole stating that all citizens are granted equal protection under the law.
California came under fire in 2008, when it legalised same-sex marriage for five months before Proposition 8 banned it. In the appeal process now, it could be overturned as early as this summer, but would require the Supreme Court stepping in and taking over the current ruling.
