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The Washington state House of Representatives approved a Senate-passed bill to legalize gay marriage in a vote on Wednesday, moving the state another step closer to becoming the seventh to recognize same-sex nuptials.
The vote marks final legislative approval of the bill, which Governor Christine Gregoire has promised to sign into law.
Opponents have said they are planning to seek its repeal at the polls in November.
House passage of the measure, on a vote of 55-43, came a day after a federal appeals court declared California's voter-approved gay marriage ban unconstitutional.