WASHINGTON (AP) – Minnesota Sen. Mark Dayton said that marriage should be redefined as a religious ceremony, with civil “marital contracts” for both gay and straight couples. Meanwhile, the state’s other senator, Norm Coleman, said he opposes a proposed constitutional amendment banning marriage for gays and lesbians.

“Under the separation of Church and state, federal and state governments should leave marriage to God and to the religions of this country,” Dayton said, “and separate out the civil aspects of what is now termed marriage as a different term, whether it’s legal union or marital contract.”

Dayton, a Democrat, said the federal government should establish the overall “parameters” for such contracts. But he said the focus this year should be on defeating a constitutional amendment banning marriage for gays and lesbians.

Dayton made his pitch on the same day that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., urged Congress to embrace such an amendment. Dayton called the proposed amendment “un-American, un-Christian and unwise.”

“We need to find a better answer,” he added. “And we also need to avoid the mean, dehumanizing and divisive debate that a constitutional amendment would require.”

Coleman, a Republican, charted a more middle ground. While reiterating his view that marriage should be between a man and a woman, Coleman said states should be free to decide the issue on their own.

He told reporters he would support a “narrowly defined” constitutional amendment allowing states to reject married gay and lesbian couples from other states. Federal law already does that, but Coleman and others have said that law could be struck down by the courts.

Coleman argued that the marriage amendment pending in Congress, which President Bush supports, goes too far.

The amendment bans the federal government and states from recognizing gay marriages and the “legal incidents thereof” – which Coleman said he fears could undercut domestic partner benefits.

“I am very cautious about stepping into any area that would provide any basis for discrimination, or curtailing any rights or benefits that state and folks at the local level deem appropriate,” Coleman said.

Although Coleman’s stance is more moderate than his party’s, it still didn’t pass muster with the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay and lesbian rights organization.

“There’s no moderate way to amend the Constitution,” said the group’s political director, Winnie Stachelberg. “Senator Coleman’s proposal is still about discrimination, it’s still about denying gay and lesbian couples and their families rights and responsibilities that other couples have in this country.”

She said Dayton’s proposal would add a level of fairness for gays and lesbians.

“We applaud Senator Dayton’s incredible leadership on this issue,” Stachelberg said.

Tom Prichard, president of the Minnesota Family Council, disapproved of Dayton’s position.

“He’s clearly positioned himself with this proposal as the champion of gay marriage not only in Minnesota but across the country,” Prichard said. “He’s trying to undermine marriage.”