8 February 2012
Last updated at 19:12 ET
Same-sex marriages could come into effect in Washington state by June
Lawmakers in the US state of Washington have passed a bill legalising gay marriage, making Washington the seventh US state to back the measure.
The House voted 55-43 in favour of the legislation, a week after it was passed by the state’s Senate.
Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire is expected to sign the measure into law next week.
It comes a day after a California court declared a ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.
Same-sex weddings are already legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, DC.
Legislators in the state of New Jersey are expected to vote on the matter next week and gay marriage could appear on the ballot in Maine in November.
Meanwhile, amendments to ban same-sex unions will be put to the vote later this year in North Carolina and Minnesota.
If approved, same-sex marriage laws would come into effect
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