The Vermont House of Representatives voted to pass a bill legalizing gay marriage Thursday evening. The bill, which passed in the Senate with a final tally of 26-4 last month, passed in the House with less of a lead at 95-52, only a handful of votes away from withstanding the threatened veto of Governor Jim Douglas (R), and with at least two Representatives who have pledged to change their vote to YES if the Governor delivers that veto.

The Burlington Free Press reports:

Vermont’s House of Representatives gave preliminary approval tonight to a historic same-sex marriage bill, setting up a showdown with Gov. Jim Douglas.

After nearly four hours of passionate debate from supporters and opponents of the measure, the House approved the bill by a vote of 95-52 shortly after 9 p.m. The legislation, S.115, gives same-sex couples the right to marry in Vermont.

The bill will be brought up again Friday for final approval, then return to the Senate, where changes to language must be approved. Should the Senate OK those changes, the bill will head to Douglas’ desk and a promised veto.

That veto — which Douglas declared last week he would deliver — would not kill the legislation. Instead members of the House and Senate will try to override the veto by securing a two-thirds majority of support in each chamber. The Senate would need 20 votes; the House would need 100 with all members in attendance.

Earlier in the day, two Democratic Representatives who voted against the bill said that if vetoed, they would vote to overturn.

If there is a vote to override a gubernatorial veto, however, [Rep. Debbie] Evans said she will vote for it. The Democratic caucus is firm about sticking together to challenge the governor, she said.

Evans said she believes Gov. Jim Douglas interfered with the legislative process by declaring last week that he would veto the bill before it went through the Legislature. “No one was happy with that,” she said.

She wasn’t the only Democrat who said she would switch her vote to override a veto. Albert “Sonny” Audette, D-South Burlington, said he would do the same.

In the same article, NO voter Rep. Don Turner (R) was quoted, giving a fascinating insight to the problem we face.

Turner, a Republican from Milton, has been lobbied by a gay friend and his own nephew to vote for the bill, he said, but in the end, he decided he couldn’t.

“A marriage is between a man and a woman,” he said. “I just can’t get beyond that. I don’t feel right in changing the definition. It’s just everything I know.”

Hopefully Rep. Turner’s relationships with his friend and nephew can withstand this vote. I appreciate the struggle with new understanding, and I know a lot of people find themselves in a similar position, but it’s time to move past it and become closer to the nation we are meant to be.

Thanks to Shay Totten of Vermont online magazine Seven Days for outstanding updates from the House chamber all afternoon and evening on Twitter. In the next few days, I’ll be taking a look at some of the debate before the vote, including video of several key points of discussion.

Update 04/03/2009: The bill passed in the House a second time this afternoon with an official tally of 94-52, with three absent and Speaker Shap Smith abstaining.