Image courtesy of Creative Commons. Image by Mich Licht, Notionscapital.com.

The bill passed the state Senate by a margin of 28-21 Wednesday, and the House Judiciary Committee voted 7-5 to advance the bill Monday, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

If the House passes the bill, which could happen within days, the bill will go to Gov. Chris Gregoire, reported the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Though the bill has been successful so far, it is not without opposition, a fact that is apparent in the margins by which it passed.

The Bend Bulletin reported:

“I hope the people will rise up and vote against this,” said Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick. “It goes back to my faith. God is promised in our Scripture to bless the nation for those who follow him. For those who do not, there are curses. I think we could really use God’s help right now.”

However, the bill has been endorsed by Gregoire and seems likely to pass.

Washington has been changing its attitude toward same-sex marriage in recent years, though in the past the state had taken a stance against it.

According to the Bend Bulletin:

As recently as 1998, Washington joined most of the nation in passing a Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

The state Legislature in 2007 passed a law allowing gay couples to register as domestic partners, then expanded the legal rights of domestic partners in 2009 to include “everything but marriage.”

Opponents of the bill have promised to collect petition signatures in order to fight SB 6239, leaving the fate of same-sex couples in question even if the House should pass the bill.