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The Senate will vote Wednesday on a measure to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state.

The Senate Rules Committee voted Tuesday to move the bill to a floor vote. Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, who is president of the Senate, pulled the bill for advancement, saying "it would be hypocritical for me to not support this bill" because of work he has done with schools and diversity.

"For me, this is not a religious question," said Owen, a Democrat. "It's a legal question."

The committee advanced the bill on a 14-7 vote, with six of the seven Republicans on the committee voting no. Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley, is one of two Republican senators who have said they will support the measure.

The bill is not expected to come up for a vote until late afternoon or early evening on Wednesday. It is expected to pass in the Senate with at least 25 votes, the number needed for approval. Five other senators - two Democrats and three Republicans - have not indicated how they will vote.

If passed by the Senate, the measure moves to the House, which also has enough votes to pass the bill, and Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire supports the measure and said she will sign it into law.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have already promised a referendum battle at the ballot if Washington becomes the 7th state to approve gay marriage.

Same-sex marriage is legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia.

Lawmakers in New Jersey and Maryland are expected to debate gay marriage this year, and Maine is likely to see a gay marriage proposal on the November ballot.

A referendum can't be filed until after the bill is passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gregoire. Opponents then must turn in 120,577 signatures by June 6.

Washington state has had a domestic partnership law since 2007 and an "everything but marriage" expansion of the domestic partnership law since 2009. Gay marriage bills were introduced in both the House and the Senate this year, and received their first public hearings this month.

Democratic Sen. Ed Murray, a gay lawmaker from Seattle who has spearheaded past gay rights and domestic partnership laws in the state, and is sponsor of the Senate marriage bill, said that he's anxious for Wednesday's vote.

"Nothing is done until it is actually voted on," he said.

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The gay marriage bills are Senate Bill 6239 and House Bill 2516.

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Follow Rachel La Corte on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/RachelAPOly

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Online:

http://www.leg.wa.gov