Gay Marriage Legalized in Maine, Maryland

The gay rights movement enjoyed a historic victory on Tuesday night, as Maine and Maryland voted to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Washington Post reports that same-sex couples in Maryland will be allowed to wed as soon as Jan. 1.

Maine and Maryland now join six other states, and Washington, D.C., that allow gay marriage: Iowa, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Connecticut.

• Read the story on Huffington Post's Gay Voices page here. 

However, each of those six states legalized gay marriage through court decisions or through the votes of state legislators. Maine and Maryland are the first states to legalize gay marriage through ballot voting.

Prior to Tuesday, same-sex marriage endured a 32-state losing streak. 

In addition, Tammy Baldwin, the Democratic representative from Wisconsin, became the first openly gay member of the United States Senate and the first woman elected to the Senate from Wisconsin.

Baldwin joins Barney Franks, D-Massachusetts, David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, and Jared Polls, D-Colorado, as the only openly gay members of the House.

What do you think about these results from Tuesday? Tell us in comments.

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