Maine senate passes gay marriage

[furrbear]

The Maine Senate just passed legislation legalizing marriages for gay couples in that state. The state House would have to pass the legislation as well, though it should be an easier fight than was the Senate, then it would go to governor Baldacci, a Democrat who hasn't said what he'll do.

A vote to send the issue up for a statewide referendum - i.e., a vote on whether to make marriage available to gays - failed. Probably in part because anti-gay legislators didn't want to vote to give residents a chance to legalize the marriages.

Yet another major advance for civil rights advocates.