Whether or not you agree with his stand, there is reason to admire a state legislator willing to stand on principle.

That’s what state Sen. David Adkins, R-Leawood, did Thursday when he held the Senate floor for more than four hours to argue against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Kansas. The unusual filibuster was part of a contentious six-hour debate on the Senate floor that ended in defeat for the proposed amendment.

The amendment defined marriage as a civil contract between a man and a woman and stated that all other marriage were void. The Kansas House already had passed the measure by the two-thirds majority necessary to put it to a statewide vote.

During the Senate debate Thursday, Adkins held the floor for more than four hours before Sen. Lana Oleen, R-Manhattan, proposed a revised amendment that would have placed in the constitution the existing state statue that says only marriages between one man and one women are valid. Her amendment, which might have opened the door for additional language about civil unions, was tentatively approved, then rejected by the Senate.

The original amendment also was defeated, and its advocates were outraged by Adkins’ tactics. Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, called the debate “an absolutely shameful day in the Kansas Senate.”

Adkins, however, maintained that “the march of liberty” was on his side and that, in time, society would accept gay marriage as it now accepts interracial marriages. Time will tell whether he is right.

The reactions of senators whose districts include parts of Lawrence or Douglas County were mixed. Sen. Mark Buhler, R-Lawrence, voted against the ban, saying, “When it gets down to moral stuff, I have to vote with my heart.” Sen. Bob Lyon, R-Winchester, reportedly called marriage “divinely ordained,” and said, “I see there are people here who adhere to a biblical standard of law as an absolute standard and those who hold to a moral relativism.” Interestingly, however, Lyon was not present when the Senate took its final vote on the amendment to ban gay marriage. It will be interesting to see how individual votes on this matter will color votes in November’s House and Senate elections.

Advocates of the ban said Thursday that they didn’t know whether the issue would be renewed during the current legislative session. Most Kansans would contend that legislators have more pressing matters to address in the session’s closing days.

Although Adkins may have succeeded in killing this measure for now, his victory probably won’t come without political costs, especially among conservative voters in his Johnson County district. Some may find his filibuster tactics a bit dramatic or nutty, but he employed them in a serious attempt to do what he saw as the right thing for Kansas — and that’s something Kansans should value and admire in an elected representative.