The Hawaii State Senate has voted overwhelmingly to repeal a 1998 amendment to the state's constitution banning same-sex marriage, extending to legally married same-sex couples all state rights and benefits.

In a special legislative session convened Wednesday at the request of Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, the Senate voted 20-4 in favor of a bill that would make Hawaii the 15th state to legalize marriage between gay and lesbian couples.

Following passage in the Senate, the bill — S.B. 1 — has been referred to the state's House of Representatives for consideration before a joint hearing of the House Judiciary and Finance Committees, scheduled for Thursday morning.

“The Senate's passage of this bill marks an historic step towards equality, fairness, and justice,” Democratic state Sen. Clayton Hee, chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor, said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Gov. Abercrombie is expected to sign the bill into law should it pass in the House, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 44-7.

The bill would extend to legally married same-sex couples all state rights, benefits, protections and responsibilities currently available to opposite-sex couples, as well as protect religious organizations that do not rent out or charge fees for access to their facilities or grounds from legal liability if they refuse to host same-sex wedding ceremonies.

“This measure represents the Senate's best effort to strike a balance between religious freedom and equal rights,” Sen. Hee said. “Language has been included that preserves the sincerely held religious beliefs of religious organizations.”

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A 69% majority of Hawaii voters in 1998 approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages in the state, four years after the state's legislature approved a statute defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

In 2010, state legislators managed to pass a bill providing legal protection for same-sex civil unions, but the bill was ultimately vetoed by former Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle. A similar bill was eventually signed into law by Gov. Abercrombie in July 2012.