Gay rights advocates in Washington state are kicking off a campaign, Thursday, to make it the seventh state to recognize gay marriage.
 
A group of organizations called Washington United for Marriage will hold a series of town hall events in coming weeks.

The goal of the Seattle-based coalition is to rally support for a big push in the legislature to legalize gay marriage in 2012.

In 2009, Washington lawmakers passed a civil unions bill expanding the rights of same-sex couples.