Topeka ? A former state legislator from Lawrence called a proposed constitutional ban of gay marriages “bigotry masquerading as morality.”

Forrest Swall, an assistant professor emeritus in the school of social welfare at Kansas University and a Democrat who served in the Kansas House in 1993-94, was one of two people who spoke against a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that states marriage can only be between a man and a woman and same-sex marriages would be “contrary to the public policy of this state and are void.”

A public hearing on the proposal was conducted Wednesday before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee.

About 15 people testified in support of the measure, saying it was needed to defend heterosexual marriages from court decisions, such as the one in Massachusetts, that say states must grant gay couples the same legal rights and privileges as heterosexual married couples.

Anti-gay minister Fred Phelps, of Topeka, said the Kansas amendment was necessary and called same-sex marriage “the ultimate smash-mouth, in-your-face insult to God Almighty.”

Earlier, Swall tried to interrupt a news conference in the Statehouse being conducted by supporters of the amendment. Swall said he was protesting the use of a public building for a news conference staged by religious leaders.

The hearing Wednesday produced a packed crowd and sometimes emotional speeches, though legislators said it was unlikely any of those speeches swayed lawmakers to a new position.

“I assume no minds were changed today,” said Rep. William Mason, R-El Dorado, chairman of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee and a primary sponsor of the measure.

But Mason said the hearing that attracted about 100 people allowed both sides to be heard.

Mass. lawmakers shoot down civil union compromise

“You always want to hear from the people,” he said.

The father of a lesbian who has been in a committed relationship for nearly 20 years, Swall said he was appalled at those in society, such as Phelps, who disparaged gays.

Swall said supporters of the amendment were doing Phelps’ bidding.

“The proposal before the committee comes straight from the message of hate all of us in this community have come to know so well,” he said.

But Mason said, “Your charge that it has been inspired by others is not accurate.”

Several law officers monitored the hearing, but no incidents occurred.

“Marriage between a man and a woman is the basic structure that holds society together, and the governmental sanctioning of same-sex unions would eventually destroy society,” said Bob Hanson, a Topeka pastor who was representing the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists.

Pat Bullock, of Wichita, director of association missions for the Heart of Kansas Southern Baptist Assn., said it was “unjust” to accept homosexuality.

“History shows, and cannot be denied, that nations that come to accept homosexuality as a normal lifestyle no longer exist as a leading nation or empire,” he said.

Brianna Olds, a 17-year-old from Manhattan, said, “Without marriage being defined as it has always been understood, we will reap a confused generation.”

But J.L. Cleland, a gay man from Hoyt, criticized those who wanted to defend the sanctity of heterosexual marriage by opposing gay marriage.

“Britney Spears can get married one day and divorced the next. Where is the sanctity in that?” he asked.

Mason said he expected the committee would recommend approval of the amendment as early as Feb. 20. The proposal requires two-thirds approval in the House and Senate before it can be placed on a statewide ballot, possibly in November.