HARRISBURG -- The most emotional social issue at the Capitol this spring -- whether to amend the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage -- saw action in two different venues today.

In a cramped fourth-floor meeting room, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 18-8 in favor of Senate Bill 1250, which would strengthen the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act by changing the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriages or their "functional equivalent," which some people take to mean civil unions between two men or two women.

The ban on gay marriages and civil unions could come up for a vote in the full Senate as early as tomorrow or Wednesday, and with conservatives of both political parties seemingly in charge on this issue, the bill could pass and be sent to the House.

Just after the committee voted, a group of about 200 opponents of the bill gathered in the main rotunda and shouted, "Stop this bill! Stop this bill!"

Legislators such as Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, and Sen. Vince Fumo, D-Philadelphia, denounced the bill.

"When the basic rights of any group are threatened, then no one's rights are safe," said Mr. Fumo. "It's possible this legislative body could vote to embed discrimination in our Constitution."

Mr. Frankel said it's not just same-sex couples who could be threatened under the bill. He said "nontraditional" heterosexual couples, such as senior citizens who live together without being married, could find their pensions jeopardized.

"Politicians often want to get into your wallet,'' said Mr. Ferlo. "Now members of both parties -- Democrats and Republicans -- want to get into your bedroom."

Of the 18 yes votes for the bill in the committee, 14 were by Republican and four were by Democrats. Of the eight no votes, six were by Democrats and two were by Republicans.

If the Senate approves the bill, it likely will go to the House State Government Committee, which is headed by Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Philadelphia, who strongly opposes it.

Asked if she can kill it in committee, she said, "We'll see."

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.