Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has pledged to sign a bill extending marriage rights to same-sex couples. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Maryland Senate voted 25 to 22 Thursday night to approve a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, clearing its final hurdle in the state legislature before it goes to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has pledged to sign it.

The historic vote triggered a burst of applause and cheers in the Senate chamber by supportive lawmakers and LGBT activists, who packed the visitor’s gallery.

“We could not be more grateful to the senators who today voted to make all Maryland families stronger,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, which is a member of Marylanders for Marriage Equality, a coalition of LGBT and allied organizations that pushed for the bill.

“Today we took another giant step toward marriage equality becoming law – and we are in this position due to the unwavering leadership and resolve of Gov. O’Malley and our legislative allies,” Solmonese said.

U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the Senate vote “an extraordinary victory for the people of Maryland and a critical step forward in the march for marriage equality nationwide.”

Pelosi added, “As a native Marylander, this vote is a source of personal pride; as an American this action is a symbol of our progress as a nation and as a people.”

The Senate vote came six days after the Maryland House of Delegates passed the bill by a razor-thin one-vote margin. That vote followed an intense lobbying effort by O’Malley, who is credited with helping to persuade the few wavering Democratic delegates needed to put the bill over the top.

Unlike past years, O’Malley this year introduced the marriage bill as part of his legislative package and placed all of the resources of his office behind the bill.

But supportive and opposing lawmakers acknowledged in the Senate floor debate Thursday night that the Civil Marriage Protection Act now faces its most daunting hurdle — a bruising referendum campaign leading up to the November election, when voters will have the final say on whether the bill should be enacted into law.

Public opinion polls show Maryland voters are nearly evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage, with supporters showing a slight lead.

Most political observers believe opponents of the bill have the resources to gather the required number of petition signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot in the November election, when President Barack Obama’s name will also be on the ballot.

The bill died in the House of Delegates last year after clearing the Senate. Supporters decided to pull it from the House floor without a vote after determining they didn’t have the votes to pass it.

The Senate passed the bill last year by a vote of 25-21. Its approval of the bill on Thursday night by a 25-22 vote did not represent a change in the breakdown of supporters and opponents, according to observers at the state capital in Annapolis.

Sen. Joanne Benson (D-Prince George’s County) announced her opposition to the bill last year but was unable to reach the Senate floor to vote at that time, resulting in her being listed as not voting. Benson voted ‘no’ on the bill this time.

She was among 11 Democrats who voted against the bill on Thursday, opposing the 24 Democrats who voted ‘yes’ in the 47-member Senate.

Eleven Republicans voted against the bill, with just one, Sen. Allan Kittleman (R-Carroll & Howard Counties), voting for it.

In the House debate last week several opponents delivered highly emotional speeches condemning the bill as a threat to traditional marriage and an infringement on religious rights. Thursday’s Senate debate was more measured, with opponents saying their positions were based mostly on religious beliefs while expressing respect for same-sex couples.

Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County), an American University law professor, served as floor leader for the marriage bill. LGBT advocates for the bill have long credited him with using a firm but diplomatic approach in refuting arguments that legalizing same-sex marriage would infringe on religious rights or create problems for traditional marriage.

Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery County), the Senate’s only openly gay member, called on his colleagues to support the bill to provide equality and dignity to “all” families, including those headed by same-sex couples.

“We all cherish families,” he said, adding that the bill is intended for “people who find love and want a family.”

Noting that he and his partner are raising two kids, Madaleno said he considers himself a “married man” and part of the “family of Maryland” without the right to legalize his and his partner’s relationship with a marriage license.

“It is the marriage license that symbolizes the commitment,” he said. “It makes it worthwhile. I want that marriage license in the State of Maryland.”

In his closing remarks, Raskin praised his fellow senators on both sides of the political aisle for their “extraordinary civility and decency and even affection that pervaded these very tough discussions.”

He told of his personal bout with colon cancer last year, just as the Senate deliberated over the marriage bill, saying his doctors have given him a “clean bill of health” at this time.

“But I learned that there is a difference between misfortune and injustice in life,” he said, noting that a cancer diagnosis, which can happen to anyone, is a misfortune.

“But if you find someone to love in this life and to have and to hold and to dedicate your life to and you have kids together and you want to be married… and you can’t do it, that’s not a misfortune, that’s an injustice because we have the power to do something about it,” he said. “And today we have.”

Senate observers said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Anne Arundel County), who voted against the bill, took the unusual step of explaining why he did so. Miller, who has said all along that he opposes same-sex marriage on religious grounds, has been praised by the bill’s supporters for making sure it would reach the floor for a vote.

“Am I on the wrong side of history?” he asked. “As a historian, there is no doubt about it… I believe marriage is between a husband and a wife and that is why I voted the way I did,” he said.

Should Maryland’s marriage equality bill clear the referendum hurdle, the state joins D.C., Massachusetts, New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont and Washington State in allowing same-sex couples to marry.

“There remains a lot of work to do between now and November to make marriage equality a reality in Maryland,” said HRC’s Solmonese. “Along with coalition partners, we look forward to educating and engaging voters about what this bill does. It strengthens all Maryland families and protects religious liberty.”

Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, the national same-sex marriage advocacy organization, startled HRC and other partners of the Marylanders for Marriage Equality coalition earlier this year when he expressed concern that supporters of the bill had not demonstrated the capability to win in a referendum fight.

“Lesbian and gay couples, their families, and non-gay friends and neighbors made a powerful case for the freedom to marry, which all should enjoy,” Wolfson told the Blade after the Maryland Senate vote Thursday night.

“The lawmakers responded to these moving stories of love and commitment,” he said. “Now, HRC, Marylanders for Marriage Equality, and those who led the passage of this bill must defend it against the attack coming in November. “

Asked if Freedom to Marry would become involved in the Maryland referendum fight, Wolfson said only, “You have my comment.”

Here’s how Maryland’s senators voted:

Voting Yea

Brochin, James (D) Baltimore Co.

Conway, Joan Carter (D) Baltimore

Ferguson, William C., IV (D) Baltimore

Forehand, Jennie M. (D) Montgomery

Frosh, Brian E. (D) Montgomery

Garagiola, Robert J. (D) Montgomery

Gladden, Lisa A. (D) Baltimore

Jones-Rodwell, Verna L. (D) Baltimore

Kasemeyer, Edward J. (D) Howard

Kelley, Delores G. (D) Baltimore Co.

King, Nancy J. (D) Montgomery

Kittleman, Allan H. (R) Howard

Klausmeier, Katherine A. (D) Baltimore Co.

Madaleno, Richard S., Jr. (D) Montgomery

Manno, Roger (D) Montgomery

McFadden, Nathaniel J. (D) Baltimore

Montgomery, Karen S. (D) Montgomery

Pinsky, Paul G. (D) Prince George’s

Pugh, Catherine E. (D) Baltimore

Ramirez, Victor R. (D) Prince George’s

Raskin, Jamie B. (D) Montgomery

Robey, James N. (D) Howard

Rosapepe, James C. (D) Prince George’s

Young, Ronald N. (D) Frederick

Zirkin, Robert A. (D) Baltimore Co.

Voting Nay

Astle, John C. (D) Anne Arundel

Benson, Joanne C. (D) Prince George’s

Brinkley, David R. (R) Frederick

Colburn, Richard F. (R) Dorchester

Currie, Ulysses (D), Prince George’s

DeGrange, James E., Sr. (D) Anne Arundel

Dyson, Roy P. (D) St. Mary’s

Edwards, George C. (R) Garrett

Getty, Joseph M. (R), Carroll

Glassman, Barry (R) Harford

Jacobs, Nancy (R) Harford

Jennings, J. B. (R) Harford

Mathias, James N., Jr. (D) Worcester

Middleton, Thomas M. (D) Charles

Miller, Thomas V. Mike (D) Calvert

Muse, C. Anthony (D) Prince George’s

Peters, Douglas J. J. (D) Prince George’s

Pipkin, E. J. (R) Cecil

Reilly, Edward R. (R) Anne Arundel

Shank, Christopher B. (R) Washington

Simonaire, Bryan W. (R) Anne Arundel

Stone, Norman R., Jr. (D) Baltimore Co.