Indianapolis -
The Indiana Senate voted on Tuesday in favor of a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage and civil unions.
House Joint Resolution 6 passed the Senate in a 40 to 10 vote.
This is Indiana's latest step towards enshrining a ban on gay marriage in the state constitution.
A 1986 Indiana state law already defines a marriage as being between one man and one woman, and state law also prohibits recognition of gay marriages performed legally in other states.
The House passed the same Joint Resolution on a 70 to 26 vote in February.
To change the Indiana State Constitution, the same exact Resolution will have to be passed by the 2013 General Assembly, and then approved by Indiana voters.