COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gov. Bob Taft approved one of the country’s most far reaching gay-marriage bans Feb. 6, saying its adoption was urgent because the nation’s first legally sanctioned same-sex weddings could take place as early as this spring in Massachusetts.

The bill, which Taft signed in private, also prohibits state employees from getting marital benefits for their unmarried partners, whether gay or straight.

Approving the bill to make gay marriages “against the strong public policy of the state” became more pressing after the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled 4-3 this week that denial of marriage to same-sex couples is unconstitutional, Taft said.

“It is necessary for us to act now to safeguard Ohio’s marriage laws,” Taft said. “Ohio could have same-sex couples who were ‘married’ in Massachusetts taking legal action in Ohio to recognize that marriage and to obtain the resulting benefits.”

When the law takes effect in 90 days, Ohio will become the 38th state to adopt a “defense of marriage act” and the second to deny benefits to some employees’ partners.

Taft, a Republican, denied assertions that the law promotes intolerance. He said the new law would send a strong positive message to children and families.

“Marriage is an essential building block of our society, an institution we must reaffirm,” he said.

Taft received more than 10,500 letters, phone calls, e-mails and faxes from opponents and supporters of the bill. Slightly more opponents, about 5,300, contacted his office.

That amount is far more than most bills but equivalent to other high-profile legislation, spokesperson Orest Holubec said.

Karen Holbrook, president of Ohio State University, was one of the opponents, writing Taft Feb. 2 to question his support for the bill. She said it will hurt the university’s ability to attract and keep employees.

“We will lose some of our best and brightest” employees if the bill is enacted, her letter said.

Rep. Michael Skindell, a Lakewood Democrat who opposed the bill, argued the legislation does nothing to protect marriage, which he said more often fall apart because of poverty, drug and alcohol abuse and unwanted pregnancies.

“Marriages fall apart on account of our disrespect of the institution as reflected in the TV reality shows such as ‘Who Wants To Marry My Dad?’ and permitting an Elvis impersonator to preside over a marriage between two individuals who met the previous evening,” Skindell said.

The bill “is a message of discrimination against gays and lesbians that should not be officially sanctioned,” he said.

Rep. Bill Seitz, who authored the legislation, said the law will not remove any existing benefits that same-sex or domestic partners currently have.

It also will not stop unionized state employees from negotiating such benefits as part of a contract, or prohibit non-unionized employees from receiving the benefits as a condition of being hired, he said.

He used the example of a law that allows the paychecks of deceased lawmakers to be collected by their spouses.

“We do not want people to come sliding in and redefine the word spouse in that statute to say, ‘Well, it should be paid to the deceased member’s dependent, live-in lover, same-sex partner or other persons not a spouse,” Seitz said.