Photo by qbubbles.

This afternoon, the Maryland State Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill which would legalize gay marriage in the state. The measure passed a preliminary vote, 25-22, shortly after noon today. A final vote on the measure, scheduled for tomorrow, will likely mirror that count.

The Maryland House of Delegates will likely take up and pass the Senate’s version of the bill next week. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has said that he would sign a bill allowing gay marriage into law.

There were some slight amendments made to the bill before the preliminary vote, mostly related to religious concerns. The bill, originally known as the “Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act” is now simply the “Civil Marriage Protection Act”; additionally, religious organizations do not have to promote same-sex marriage, nor do religiously-affiliated “fraternal benefit societies” have to extend benefits to individuals if they violate the group’s religious beliefs. The Senate rejected other amendments to the legislation which would have prohibited “promoting” same-sex marriage in public schools, allowed religious-affiliated adoption agencies to refuse services to same-sex couples.

The news comes on the heels of President Barack Obama’s surprise directive instructing the federal government to cease defending the Defense of Marriage Act.