Penn Senators Votes Down Antigay Marriage Bill

Pennsylvania legislators on Tuesday voted against advancing a bill that could have constitutionally banned same-sex marriage.

The state's senate judiciary committee tabled senate bill 707 by an 8-6 bipartisan vote. The bill, sponsored by antigay Republican senator John Eichelberger, could be brought up again, but it's unlikely the bill will be considered before the end of the 2010 legislative session, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.

"The efforts to embed discrimination against LGBT people into our constitution have failed for a third time," Andy Hoover, legislative director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said in a press release, referring to failed attempts to pass similar legislation in 2006 and 2008. "This committee today recognized that LGBT people are our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, and our family members and that they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect."

Committee members who voted to table the bill included Republicans Pat Browne, Jane Earll, and Mary Jo White and Democrats Daylin Leach, Lisa Boscola, Wayne Fontana, Michael Stack, and Jay Costa.