AUSTIN -- The Senate gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that bans Texas from recognizing same-sex civil unions or marriages.
Texas currently bans same-sex marriages. The bill by Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, would prevent the state from recognizing a civil union entered into by people of the same sex in other states.
The proposal, which had been tentatively approved by the Senate on Monday, now will be considered by the House.
Senate opponents contended the legislation is unnecessary and would encourage discrimination against gay and lesbian couples.
But Wentworth said Senate Bill 7 is essential to clarify existing law, which limits the issuance of marriage licenses to people of the opposite sex but says nothing specifically about other "civil unions."
Thirty-six other states have passed similar laws, he said. Vermont is the only state to recognize civil unions of same-sex couples, but Wentworth said Texas could be forced under the U.S. Constitution to recognize unions sanctioned in Vermont unless the Legislature enacts his bill.
The bill does include a provision that would let gays and lesbians continue receiving such things as life insurance proceeds and property rights from their partners "without the existence of any legally recognized familial relationship."