And Maryland will make it 9

Maryland is poised to join Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington in allowing same-sex marriage. The Washington Post reports

A bill to legalize same-sex marriage won narrow approval Friday night in the Maryland House of Delegates, setting the stage for the state to join seven others and the District in allowing gay nuptials.

The 72 to 67 vote, which followed a day of emotional and contentious debate, capped a dramatic turnaround from a year ago and all but assures the measure will be sent to Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) for his promised signature.

The bill passed with one vote to spare and moves to the Senate, which approved similar legislation last year.

With California poised to restore marriage rights to same-sex couples and with several additional states (Colorado, Deleware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin) already recognizing same-sex civil unions, the tide toward recognizing the civil rights of all citizens is clearly coming in.