HARRISBURG -- The General Assembly ponders many sticky issues for years without ever actually voting on them, but it looks like legislation to outlaw same-sex marriage is on the fast track.

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House Bill 2381, which would amend the state constitution to limit marriage to between one man and one woman, is set for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday morning. The bill was approved by the full House this week by a 2 to 1 margin.

If approved by the Judiciary Committee Tuesday, as several senators expect, it could be voted on by the full Senate as soon as June 19, Senate Republican Whip Jeffrey Piccola of Dauphin County said yesterday.

He and another supporter, Sen. Bob Regola, R-Hempfield, said they expect the bill to get full Senate approval on June 19 or soon thereafter -- definitely before the Senate recesses for the summer in late June or early July.

"That is absolutely my goal, to get it approved by the end of June," Mr. Regola said yesterday. "I am confident it will pass. I have spoken to a lot of my colleagues and there appears to be a lot of support."

Mr. Regola has introduced Senate Bill 1084, a bill similar to House Bill 2381, but he said he would allow the House-passed bill to become the vehicle for outlawing gay marriages.

Spokesmen for the two top GOP Senate leaders, Robert Jubelirer of Altoona and David Brightbill of Lebanon, said yesterday they also support banning same-sex marriages in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Piccola said the "overwhelming majority" of people in his Harrisburg-area district and around the state "have the view that marriage is between one man and one woman. It's been that way since Adam and Eve."

He noted that Pennsylvania approved the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, banning same-sex marriage, and the proposed constitutional amendment reaffirms that.

So why change the constitution?

"Because we have activist courts, especially federal courts, that could strike down a Pennsylvania statute," he said. "That's the reason for going the constitutional route."

If passed by the Senate by late June or early July, the proposed amendment would be advertised in state newspapers by early August -- 90 days prior to the Nov. 7 election. That notification requirement gives voters a chance to learn about the proposed amendment in case they want to use it as a factor in voting for General Assembly candidates in November.

The Senate and House members who are elected in November must vote a second time -- either in 2007 or 2008 -- for the proposed amendment before it could go to voters for action. That referendum could happen as soon as the May 2007 primary, Mr. Piccola noted, if the Legislature gives its second approval by early February.

More realistically, the statewide referendum probably wouldn't occur until November 2007 or even November 2008, he said.

He said he didn't know why opponents of the measure would object to letting state residents have the final say on the legal definition of marriage.

One senator who won't be voting for the ban is Constance Williams, D-Delaware.

In a statement yesterday, she said, "All that this current debate on the marriage amendment serves to do is create another wedge issue that will be used by the extreme right wing, who want to get a question on the ballot in the hopes of bringing out a targeted voter population," meaning conservatives.

Ms. Williams contended it is "hypocritical to use the sanctity of marriage as bait to reel in voters.''

She also maintained that the bill banning same-sex unions "has nothing to do with family values. What we should be talking about in Harrisburg are important family issues such as funding education, cutting property taxes, increasing the minimum wage and increasing family-sustaining jobs."