A rabbi, a priest, a State Patrol officer, a retired Coast Guard admiral, business owners, students, moms and dads -- some nervous, some emboldened -- one by one sat before lawmakers to urge support or rejection of same-sex marriage in Washington state.
They were among hundreds who descended on the Capitol on Monday as the Legislature took a giant step toward granting gays and lesbians the right to marry.
They packed the House and Senate hearing rooms and spillover galleries to watch as committees of both houses heard testimony on a pair of bills moving through the Legislature.
