By Jordan Gentile
Enquirer Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - The Ohio Senate narrowly passed a far-reaching ban on same-sex marriages Wednesday, just one day after President Bush signaled he would fight to create a constitutional amendment to do the same.

The bill, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, looks like it's on a fast track to becoming law. The House approved a similar bill last year, and Gov. Bob Taft has pledged to sign a gay marriage ban. First, the bill goes back to the House.

State Rep. Bill Seitz, a Green Township Republican who sponsored the bill, said he was "elated" at the prospect of Ohio being the 38th state to pass the Defense of Marriage Act. "It's gigantic step toward strengthening the traditional view of marriage," Seitz said.

Gay-rights activists were outraged by the 18-15 vote and said the marriage bill was a ploy to divide voters and gain political advantage in an election year.

"It's a fear campaign - a way for right-wing political and religious groups to raise money," said Timothy Downing, a Cleveland attorney and leader of Ohioans for Growth and Equality, which has opposed the marriage bill.

The state has never recognized same-sex unions, but Seitz and other conservatives say a more explicit law is needed to prevent married gay couples recognized in other states from being treated as such in Ohio. That bill would also bar health, pension and other benefits to unmarried partners of state employees.

Ohio is only the second state, after Nebraska, that would prohibit benefits for state employees' unmarried partners, according to Seth Kilbourn, national field director for the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based gay and lesbian lobbying group.

Seitz battled for two years to pass the marriage act. Massachusetts's decision last November to recognize gay marriage helped put the issue back in the spotlight.

Seitz said Bush's strong words on behalf of traditional marriage added to the bill's momentum.

"I would say the president's leadership was very important," Seitz said.

Downing predicted that young, educated workers won't want to stay in a state that denies some of them employment, health care and other benefits because of their sexual orientation.

"Why are we going to put a state that is already facing an economic crisis at further risk?" he said.

Other critics of the marriage act say it's redundant because Ohio already excludes gay couples from getting married.

Sen. Mark Mallory, D-Cincinnati, was the only Southwest Ohio delegate to vote against the bill. He called the issue "unnecessary and ridiculous."

Mallory added that employment benefits that married people enjoy should extend in some cases to unmarried people who live with elderly parents or other close friends or relatives. The marriage act would make that impossible.

But Sen. Scott Nein, R-Middletown, said taxpayers shouldn't pay for domestic partners or relatives to get employment benefits.

"Some judges have decided to go against the wishes of the people," he said. "I support traditional marriage, and this bill reinforces it."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.