HARRISBURG -- When it comes to legally banning gay marriage, most of the rhetoric from religious leaders has come from the conservative right, which favors such a move.

But yesterday, a newly formed coalition spoke up at a news conference in Harrisburg, urging the Pennsylvania Legislature and the U.S. Congress not to outlaw marriage between two men or two women.

The critics said that such a move would be "discriminatory," "outrageous" and "reprehensible."

The new group, called the Faith Coalition For Pennsylvania Families, includes pastors and officials from two Presbyterian churches (one in Pittsburgh and one in Harrisburg), the Religious Society of Friends (aka Quakers), some Baptist and United Church of Christ churches, an "independent Catholic" bishop from suburban Philadelphia, plus a nondenominational Christian church from Philadelphia and a Jewish Reformed temple in Lancaster.

"I am flabbergasted at the thought that the state Constitution might be amended to make same-sex couples outcasts in the eyes of the state," said the Rev. James D. Brown of Market Square Presbyterian Church here. "I cannot believe this is what God intends."

He disagreed with many conservative pastors, who contend that the Bible and Christian religious tradition prohibit same-sex marriage.

Another member of the group, the Rev. Janet Edwards, a Presbyterian minister from the Community of Reconciliation in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, said she presided at a lesbian wedding ceremony a year ago.

She counseled the two women for a year before the ceremony and has no doubt that "their marriage is recognized and blessed by God, even though it isn't recognized by Pennsylvania or the Presbyterian Church USA."

A Quaker official, Rosemary Coffey, also a member of the new coalition, said Quakers have always upheld religious tolerance.

The effort to ban gay marriage through a constitutional amendment "is the attempt of one religious perspective to restrict the religious activities of others, threatening our free exercise of religion," she added.

Two proposals, one in the House and one in the Senate, have been introduced to amend the state Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage.

"Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this commonwealth," reads Senate Bill 1084. It adds that neither the state nor any political subdivision "shall create or recognize a legal status identical or substantially equivalent to that of marriage for unmarried individuals."

However, with major political issues like the new state budget, property tax relief, an increase in the minimum wage and other matters expected to take up most of the General Assembly's time this month, it's uncertain if legislators would discuss a ban on gay marriage before they recess for the summer June 30.

The U.S. Senate is expected to debate a national gay marriage ban this week, though passage of a federal constitutional change is questionable also, according to news reports.

State Reps. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, and Babette Josephs, D-Philadelphia, joined the liberal religious coalition yesterday to urge defeat of a ban on gay marriage.

"This is reprehensible legislation," said Ms. Josephs. She said some advocates of the gay marriage ban have been spreading incorrect information by saying pastors and ministers would be forced against their will to marry same-sex couples if gay marriage is legalized. No pastor would have to conduct a ceremony he or she didn't believe in, she said.

Mr. Frankel called the move to outlaw gay marriage "an outrage," adding, "This legislation discriminates against law-abiding citizens in our community."