Emotional Hearing On Pennsylvania Gay Marriage Amendment

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/03/032806paBan.htm

A legislative panel heard arguments Tuesday over a measure intended to strengthen an existing ban on same-sex marriages, two weeks after it narrowly endorsed the measure.

The proposed amendment to the state constitution would prohibit state, local and county governments from legally recognizing the unions of unmarried same-sex or heterosexual couples. The amendment would also define "marriage" as a union between a man and a woman.

The House State Government Committee approved it March 14 in a 15-13 vote, sending it to the House of Representatives. The committee held a public hearing on the measure Tuesday at the behest of one of its members.

The House is expected to take up the bill April 4, a vote that would be the first step in a complex amendment process, said Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Sam Smith. A similar bill is awaiting action in the Senate Judiciary Committee