State Sen. Mike Brubaker this week proposed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in Pennsylvania, a move that is destined to resurrect a bitter legislative debate that stalled in 2006.

The Warwick Township Republican, the second Lancaster County lawmaker to introduce such a proposal in recent years, says the bill would prevent state courts from defining unions as anything but being between a man and a woman.

"One of two entities will define marriage in Pennsylvania: either the voters or a court," Brubaker said today. "I am moving ahead with a process that would permit the voters of Pennsylvania to ultimately decide the definition of marriage."

Amending the constitution requires the approval by the House and Senate in two successive two-year sessions of the General Assembly and then the approval of voters in a statewide referendum. If Brubaker's measure is approved this year, the soonest it could appear on the ballot would be 2009.

Critics point out that state law already bans gay marriage and say Brubaker is creating an issue where there is none.

"Right now, most Pennsylvanians are more concerned about taxes, energy and health care," says Stacey Sobel, executive director of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania. "He's chasing after things that aren't there.

"There are no pending lawsuits. No one has approached the state Legislature to change the state's law since it was passed," she said.

There already are state and federal "defense of marriage acts" on the books. Both Congress and Pennsylvania passed the measures in 1996, and both define marriage as a civil contract between one man and one woman.

Despite an existing statutory ban on same-sex marriages, Brubaker said the institution of marriage is vulnerable to attack. He cited New Jersey's recent legalization of civil unions under a court order.

"The New Jersey courts are in the process right now of changing what the people of New Jersey believe marriage should be," said Brubaker.

Sobel pointed out, however, that New Jersey did not have a defense of marriage act on the books.

"The bottom line is he's trying to create an issue that doesn't exist at this time, and by what he's doing he could potentially hurt people because the constitutional amendment he's trying to introduce is much broader than same-sex marriage," Sobel said. "It could potentially take away rights they already enjoy."

Brubaker counters that opinion.

"If same-sex couples have some kind of tax advantage through their employer," he said, "this does not take anything away that same-sex couples have today. This just moves the law to the constitution."

Brubaker introduced the measure, S.B. 1250, on Wednesday. The bill had 17 cosponsors, 15 of whom are Senate Republicans. Pennsylvania would become the 28th state to enacted such a constitutional ban.

A similar proposal backed by Republican Rep. Scott Boyd of West Lampeter Township, however, stalled in 2006. The House and Senate — both controlled by Republicans at the time — passed conflicting versions of an amendment and could not resolve their dispute, which centered on whether it should also apply to civil unions.

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