Same-Sex Marriage Clears First Senate Test

Measure could go to final passage Thursday

The state Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, with members voting 25 to 22 in favor of the legislation after a relatively brief and focused debate.

Though lawmakers had braced for a session that might run from the morning deep into the evening, opponents put forward only 11 amendments, and a vote on the bill came shortly before 1 p.m. The margin was a strong signal that the chamber would approve the legislation in a final vote, which could come as early as Thursday.

"I feel great," said Sen. Jamie Raskin, the Montgomery County Democrat who shepherded the bill through Wednesday's debate. "There is a historic quality to what just happened."

The bill has emerged as the highest-profile legislation of the 2011 session. The handful of senators who had not declared how they planned to vote became the targets of intense lobbying from both supporters and opponents.

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