HARRISBURG, Pa.—The Pennsylvania Senate indefinitely tabled a measure May 6 that would amend Pennsylvania’s Constitution to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions.

The bill had been scheduled for a floor vote that evening, but chief sponsor Sen. Michael Brubaker told colleagues that it would be set aside because it faced long odds in the Pennsylvania House.

The bill, had it passed the senate, was slated to be sent to the House State Government Committee, which is headed by Rep. Babette Josephs, a Philadelphia Democrat who opposes the measure.

Because of that, the Senate’s Republican leaders had no assurance that the bill would get a vote in the House at least 90 days before the November general election, the constitutional deadline to keep it alive, Brubaker said.

But Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D-Philadelphia), a vocal opponent of the measure, said a majority of senators would have supported a floor amendment to strip out wording to ban civil unions, which supporters considered crucial.

“A win is a win,” Fumo said. “It can look ugly, it can look great. But this is definitely a win.”