Washington state has approved gay marriage, joining Maine and Maryland as the first states to pass same-sex marriage by popular vote. 
 
 Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage, is applauded as be begins to speak at a news conference by supporters of Referendum 74, which would uphold the state's new same-sex marriage... (Associated Press) 
 
 Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, right, leans down to kiss her partner, Laura Wulf, during a news conference by supporters of Referendum 74, which would uphold the state's new same-sex marriage law, Wednesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Revelers kiss as they celebrate early election returns favoring Washington state Referendum 74, which would legalize gay marriage, during a large impromptu street gathering in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood,... (Associated Press) 
 
 People celebrate early election returns favoring Washington state Referendum 74, which would legalize gay marriage, during a large impromptu street gathering in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, Tuesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Supporters of Referendum 74, which would uphold the state's new same-sex marriage law, cheer at a news conference Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, in Seattle. Supporters of gay marriage in Washington state declared... (Associated Press) 
 
 Supporters of Referendum 74, which would uphold the state's new same-sex marriage law, cheer at a news conference Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, in Seattle. Supporters of gay marriage in Washington state declared... (Associated Press) 
 
 Revelers display U.S. and gay pride flags as they celebrate early election returns favoring Washington state Referendum 74, which would legalize gay marriage, during a large impromptu street gathering... (Associated Press) 
 
 Crystal Davis, of Seattle, waves a sparkler as she celebrates the 2012 election with a large crowd in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.... (Associated Press) 
 
 A large crowd of people celebrates at the conclusion of the presidential election in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. The re-election of President Barack Obama and Washington... (Associated Press) 
 
 With about three-quarters of the expected ballots counted Thursday, Referendum 74 was maintaining its lead of 52 percent. Opponents conceded the race Thursday, while supporters declared victory a day earlier. 
 
 Zach Silk, a spokesman for Washington United for Marriage, called it a "historic day." 
 
 "We have always understood that there are good people on the other side of this issue," he said in a statement issued Thursday. "Yet, we remain confident that once people see how much marriage matters to families, they will realize that the love and commitment that marriage embodies only strengthens families, neighborhoods and communities." 
 
 R-74 asked people to approve or reject a state law legalizing same-sex marriage that legislators passed earlier this year. That law was signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire but has never taken effect. It was on hold pending the election's outcome. 
 
 Washington is one of four states where voters were asked about the issue this election cycle. Maryland and Maine approved gay marriage Tuesday night, while Minnesota voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. 
 
 Six other states _ New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont _ and the District of Columbia already allowed gay marriage. But Maryland, Maine and Washington are the first to approve it by public vote. The other states' laws were enacted either by lawmakers or court rulings. 
 
 In Washington, additional voter returns will continue to be posted daily. Because Washington is a vote-by-mail state, and ballots only had to be postmarked by Tuesday, votes will continue to trickle in for days. 
 
 The measure was losing in 31 of the state's 39 counties. But it had its strongest lead _ 66 percent of the vote _ in King County, which holds about a third of the state's voters and is home to Seattle. 
 
 Gregoire, who announced her support of gay marriage at the start of the legislative session in January, said she was proud of the outcome. 
 
 "Voters stood up for what is right and what is just and said that all Washington families are equal under the law," she said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon. "This is a day that historians will look back on as a turning point for equality." 
 
 Preserve Marriage Washington, meanwhile, issued a statement saying its members were disheartened but will "continue to educate citizens and policymakers on the timeless truth that real marriage is the union of one man and one woman." 
 
 "We are disappointed in losing a tough election battle on marriage by a narrow margin," said Joseph Backholm, the campaign chairman. 
 
 Backholm blamed several factors, saying Washington is a "deep blue state." 
 
 "The election results reflect the political and funding advantages our opponents enjoyed in this very liberal and secular state," he wrote. "The results show only that in a deep blue state, with a huge financial advantage, gay marriage activists can win _ barely." 
 
 About $13.6 million was spent on the initiative in Washington state, with the bulk of it coming from gay marriage supporters. Washington United for Marriage far outraised its opponents, bringing in more than $12 million, including donations from big names like Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Opponents of gay marriage raised just $2.7 million. 
 
 Many supporters started celebrating early, taking to the streets in a Seattle neighborhood and cheering at election watch parties Tuesday night as early results showed the referendum taking a narrow lead. Police closed off several blocks in Seattle's Capitol Hill area as more than 1,000 people gathered for a late-night, impromptu election celebration, dancing and chanting "74, 74, 74." 
 
 Gay rights supporters in neighboring Oregon said the passage of same-sex marriage measures in other states gives them hope for 2014. 
 
 Domestic partnerships are legal in Oregon, but same-sex marriage was banned by ballot measure in 2004. 
 
 Jeana Frazzini, director of the gay-rights group Basic Rights Oregon, said they considered going to the ballot to overturn the constitutional amendment this year but abandoned the effort in part because there wasn't clear evidence it could pass. 
 
 "Basic Rights Oregon is committed to leading the way to make Oregon the first state to overturn a constitutional amendment banning marriage," she said in statement. 
 
 Gay couples in Washington could start picking up their marriage certificates and licenses from county auditor offices Dec. 6, a day after the election is certified. However, because Washington has a three-day waiting period, the earliest a certificate could be signed, making the marriage valid, is Dec. 9. 
 
 The law doesn't require religious organizations or churches to perform marriages, and it doesn't subject churches to penalties if they don't marry gay or lesbian couples. 
 
 The path to gay marriage in Washington state began several years ago. 
 
 A 2006 state Supreme Court ruling upheld a 1998 law banning same-sex marriage. But earlier that year, a gay civil rights measure passed after the idea had failed for nearly 30 years, signaling a change of mindset in the Legislature. 
 
 The state's first domestic partnership law passed in 2007, granting couples about two dozen rights, including hospital visitation and inheritance rights when there is no will. It was expanded a year later, and then again in 2009, when lawmakers completed the package with the so-called "everything but marriage" law that was ultimately upheld by voters later that year. 
 
 This year, lawmakers passed the law allowing gay marriage, and Gregoire signed it in February. Preserve Marriage gathered enough signatures for a referendum, putting the law on hold before it could take effect. 
 
 State Sen. Ed Murray, a Democratic gay lawmaker from Seattle, sponsored the law. He said the election's outcome "rectifies an injustice that was done to gay and lesbian couples" when the state Legislature passed the Defense of Marriage Act banning gay marriage in the state. 
 
 Murray was in his third year as a state representative when that 1998 law passed. At the time, he was the Legislature's lone gay lawmaker. 
 
 "I believe that when the marriages start happening next month, that will be a healing moment for this state," he said. 
 
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 AP writer Jonathan J. Cooper contributed from Portland, Ore. Follow Rachel La Corte at http://www.twitter.com/RachelAPOly or http://www.facebook.com/news.rachel ||||| Washington approves same-sex marriage 
 
 Washington voters have narrowly approved same-sex marriage, completing a four-state sweep of victories on Election Day by marriage-equality advocates. Before Tuesday, gay marriage had never won a statewide vote anywhere in America. 
 
 On Thursday, opponents conceded. 
 
 "With additional results showing that we have not closed the gap, it now appears clear that Referendum 74 will be narrowly approved," Joseph Backholm, head of Preserve Marriage Washington, said in a statement. "We are disappointed in losing a tough election battle on marriage by a narrow margin. But while we are disappointed, we are not defeated." 
 
 Bolstered by getting two-thirds of the vote in populous King County, Ref. 74 held a 96,000 vote lead as of mid-afternoon Thursday. It was capturing 51.96 percent of the vote, to 48.04 percent opposed. 
 
 Zach Silk, campaign manager for the pro-R-74 group Washington United for Marriage, called Thursday a "historic day" for the state, nation and "for families across the state of have dreamed of this day." 
 
 "From the beginning, this campaign told the stories of loving couples and their families who simply want to get married. All of us, from our volunteers, to our staff to the nearly 20,000 donors who invested in the freedom to marry, are enormously grateful to the voters of Washington state. Yes, we made history, but more importantly, we helped protect and defend thousands of families across the state. 
 
 Joel Connelly has been a staff columnist for more than 30 years. He comments regularly on politics and public policy. Joel Connelly has been a staff columnist for more than 30 years. He comments regularly on politics and public policy. 
 
 "We have always understood that there are good people on the other side of this issue. Yet, we remain confident that once people see how much marriage matters to families, they will realize that the love and commitment that marriage embodies only strengthens families, neighborhoods and communities." 
 
 Washington, Maryland and Maine became the first states in America to vote for marriage equality. They will soon become the seventy, eighth and ninth states to permit same-sex marriage. Minnesota voters rejected a state constitutional amendment, heavily prompted by the Catholic Church, defining marriage as between a man and a woman. 
 
 While a majority of the state's counties rejected Ref. 74, its lead in King County totaled 186,629 votes -- with 232,000 remaining to be counted. 
 
 Same-sex marriage also was approved on Tuesday in Maine and Maryland. Minnesota voters rejected a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman; as recently as 2004, multiple states enacted such an amendment. 
 
 Supporters of Ref. 74 were giddy even before Wednesday's vote totals confirmed its victory. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee described it as "a grand step forward in the arc of the moral universe." 
 
 Same-sex marriage drew the support of 70 percent of the state's voters under 30, according to the Washington Poll. 
 
 Paul Holmes, a Yale student from Seattle, observed: "I don't think I'm being biased when claiming that the positions favored by young people are simply more reasonable . . . Often, that'll mean leaving people alone, ending programs that don't work, and not being too selfish." 
 
 The anti-gay rights National Organization for Marriage had a string of successes until Tuesday, including California's Prop. 8 and Maine's earlier rejection of marriage equality. 
 
 Opponents of gay marriage "significantly outperformed the Republican ticket in nearly every state," NOM president Brian Brown said in a statement. NOM has been ferociously anti-Obama. 
 
 "We were fighting the entirety of the political establishment in most of the states, including sitting governors in three of the states who campaigned heavily for gay marriage," Brown said in a statement. 
 
 "Americans remain strongly in favor of marriage as the union of one man and one woman . . . The election results reflect the political and financial advantages our opponents enjoyed in these very liberal states." 
 
 One vociferous opponent of marriage equality — Yakima's Catholic Bishop Joseph Tyson — tried to put a positive spin on being on the losing side. 
 
 "Voters in Yakima Diocese Reject Referendum 74," screamed a headline on the diocesan web site. It claimed voters "clearly and resoundingly heard our message in Central Washington." (Results from such places as Grant, Benton and Franklin Counties showed anti-74 percentages higher than the support level in King County.) 
 
 "People in Central Washington did affirm marriage between one man and one woman: I'm grateful to many folks in the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities who did so much to push out our proposal for the common good of society," Tyson said on the site. 
 
 Seattle's Catholic Archbishop J. Peter Sartain was much more restrained. Sartain faced a lay revolt, and a group called Catholics for Marriage Equality staged a big demonstration outside his cathedral the week before election day. More than 1,000 Catholics signed a newspaper ad supporting marriage equality, and 63 resigned priests signed a pro-Ref. 74 statement. 
 
 "The campaign to preserve marriage as a union between a man and a woman represents a starting point for a long-term effort to educate Catholics about its meaning and purpose," Sartain said in a statement. 
 
 Washington was the first state to vote for civil unions, aka "everything but marriage," when it approved Referendum 71 in 2009. It has now joined two other states, bringing to a total of nine states that will now recognize marriage between partners of the same gender. 
 
 All other states have adopted marriage equality because of court rulings or legislative action.
– Voters have approved same-sex marriage in Washington state after a tight vote, meaning marriage-equality advocates won all four of their Election Day battles: Maine and Maryland backed gay marriage, while Minnesota nixed a constitutional ban on such unions. Opponents conceded yesterday in Washington: "With additional results showing that we have not closed the gap, it now appears clear that Referendum 74 will be narrowly approved," says the head of one activist group. "But while we are disappointed, we are not defeated." As of mid-afternoon yesterday, Referendum 74 was leading with 51.96% of the vote, compared to 48.04% against it. The majority of counties voted against the measure, but King County, home to Seattle, helped push it through, the Post-Intelligencer reports. Noted Gov. Christine Gregoire: "Voters stood up for what is right and what is just and said that all Washington families are equal under the law." Nine states now recognize same-sex marriage, though Washington, Maine, and Maryland are the only states where it was won via ballot measure, the AP notes.