KS OKs gay-marriage ban, becoming 18th state to do so. CT is rapidly moving to become 3rd state moving in opposite direction (joining MA & VT).

It seems a can't-lose proposition: Ask voters to ban same-sex marriages and they consistently endorse the idea, from the South to the West.

New England has been the major holdout; there, legislators and judges have strengthened rights for gays and lesbians.

Kansas on Tuesday became the 18th state to pass a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage. With conservatives pushing to define marriage as between a man and woman throughout the country, similar proposals are on the ballot in three other states next year and more than a dozen are considering them.

But Connecticut senators moved in the other direction Wednesday, approving a bill to legalize civil unions. If the bill becomes law, Connecticut would be the first state to do so without being pressured by courts.

Kansans voted by a more than 2-1 margin Tuesday to ban same-sex marriages and civil unions. Voters also ousted Tiffany Muller, the lone gay City Council member in Topeka, who had defeated an emphatically anti-gay opponent in the primary.

The ban reaffirms the state's long-standing policy of recognizing only marriages between one man and one woman. It also declares that only such unions are entitled to the "rights and incidents" of marriage, prohibiting the state from authorizing civil unions for same-sex couples.

Critics argued that the amendment could have unexpected consequences, such as potentially preventing companies from offering health benefits to employees' partners--gay or heterosexual.

The leader of a national group favoring the ban predicted Wednesday that it would ultimately fail in federal court.

"All these state amendments are going to be struck down by federal judges," said Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage. "We're in a race now--in a race between the democratic process in Kansas and other states and the federal courts."

Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, also said the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately will determine the validity of state constitutional bans on same-sex marriage.

In Connecticut, state senators Wednesday voted 27-9 in favor of the legislation after nearly four hours of debate. Proponents say the House of Representatives may pass the bill as early as next week. Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell has not taken a stand on the bill, but has said she supports the concept of civil unions.

While opponents warned that the bill was the final step toward allowing same-sex marriage, supporters said the state should be proud to voluntarily extend basic human rights to thousands of gay and lesbian couples.

The New England examples--most decisively Vermont's civil unions and Massachusetts' legalized same-sex marriages--are seen by ban supporters as the threat that's helping their cause. Advocates for same-sex marriage also see those examples as a plus, by proving fears that same-sex marriage will somehow destroy society's social fabric are unfounded.

"Massachusetts, the last time I checked ... is still there. Marriage is still there," said Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights lobbying group. "People are going on with their lives, gay and lesbian couples are raising their families and living their lives like everyone else. None of what has been forecasted or what we've been warned about seems to have happened there."

(4-7-05, AP.)