The governor of Washington state has come out in favor of gay marriage.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Democrat Gov. Christine Gregoire explained that she'd battled with the issue because she's Catholic, but said she now supports legalizing same-sex marriage in her state.

"It is time in Washington state for marriage equality," Gregoire said. "It is time. It's the right thing to do."

"Religions can decide what they want to do, but it's not okay for the state to discriminate," she added.

However, a spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle said "the position of the Catholic Church is clear," adding that the legislature should still "uphold the current legal definition of marriage as between a man and a woman."

The state has already passed what's known as the "Everything-But-Marriage" bill, giving full rights to homosexual couples.