N.H., Maine, D.C. advance on gay-marriage front

The momentum for allowing gay couples to obtain marriage licenses surged dramatically again this week with two more state legislatures passing bills to provide for such equality, one of those governors immediately signing the bill, and the District of Columbia clearing its Marriage Recognition bill.

But the gains are almost certainly leading to a referendum in at least one of those two states—in Maine—and a showdown in Congress this year.

On May 6, the legislatures in Maine and New Hampshire finished their voting on same-sex marriage bills and sent them to their respective Democratic governors. And, in Washington, D.C., the City Council May 5 took its final vote to approve the legal recognition in D.C. of marriage licenses that same-sex couples have obtained legally elsewhere. Opponents in Maine have vowed a referendum and in D.C. have vowed a fight in Congress.

Now, in Congress and New Hampshire, some waiting begins.