Photo by spiggycat

The Maryland Senate voted 25-22 in favor of legislation legalizing same-sex marriage this evening, sending the bill to Gov. Martin O’Malley for his signature. The legislation narrowly passed the House last week, the very place it died during last year’s legislative session.

As soon as the measure is signed, Maryland will become the eighth state to have legalized same-sex marriage; couples in the District have also enjoyed marriage equality since 2010. Still, if opponents can gather 56,000 signatures, they can force a referendum on the legislation in November.