FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- A bill seeking to prohibit gay and lesbian couples from adopting children has won approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The measure would also bar unmarried heterosexual couples from adoption or foster care.

It cleared the committee Thursday with little discussion.

The bill has become a lightning rod. About 100 opponents of the proposal rallied at the Capitol last month. Opponents say the legislation unjustly rules out potentially good parents just because they're not married in the traditional sense.

The committee action was praised by David Edmunds, a policy analyst for the Lexington-based Family Foundation. Edmunds says children in homes headed by unmarried couples fare worse in school and are more prone to face other problems.