Speaking to the Senate on Tuesday, Hatch called such decisions "an unprecedented usurpation of the people's will," noting that most states, including Utah, have defense of marriage laws or similar legislation.

Four states have constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, and Utah is among 11 states where voters will decide on such an amendment this November.

Hatch also pointed to Nebraska, where a federal judge is considering the constitutionality of a state constitutional amendment which bans same sex unions, domestic partnerships and gay marriages.

Legislators "surely know that by opposing a constitutional amendment to protect marriage, judges will continue imposing same-gender marriage over the will of the American people," Hatch said. "Their constituents deserve better than these misleading arguments."

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, has also expressed support for the marriage amendment, although he prefers a different version, which only defines marriage, said his spokeswoman Mary Jane Collipriest.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to discuss another bill today that would strengthen the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.

H.R. 3313 would prevent federal courts from striking down DOMA's provision that no state be required to accept a same-sex marriage license granted in another state.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, who sits on the committee and co-sponsored the House amendment, said in a statement that some local officials and courts seem "determined to redefine marriage through judicial decree, often going against the clear will of the people."

"This is a serious threat to the foundational ideas of marriage and family upon which our entire American society is based," he said. The amendment "defines marriage but leaves the definition of legal benefits to individual states."

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said up until recently he didn't think such an amendment was necessary, but now he'd probably vote for it. "There were other means to statutorily do it," he said. "The Massachusetts Supreme Court decision changed all that."

Utah's sole Democratic congressman, Jim Matheson, said in a statement that he supports the amendment because "should same-sex marriage go into effect in one state, the rule of law could be challenged by lawsuits being brought in multiple states."

While he did not comment on civil unions, he said: "I am open to people being able to make legal arrangements with respect to distribution of property, instructions in a medical emergency and other legal matters."

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Contributing: Associated Press

E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com