By Amy McCullough
Enquirer Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - The one thing both sides agree on when deciding whether to amend the state constitution banning same-sex marriages is that it's an extreme step.

Proponents need to collect 323,000 signatures from across the state by Aug. 4 to place the measure on the Nov. 2 ballot. The number of signatures has not been tallied so far in the campaign, but with just a few weeks remaining, both sides are stepping up their efforts.

The campaign for the amendment is moving from church to church throughout Ohio.

Princeton Pike Church of God Bishop Dusty Wilson said it is the first time during his 23 years in the church that he has seen an issue unify so many Christians.

"It will be an awakening (at the polls). It will explode and the end result is a sense of revival and conformity because we stood for something we believed in - and it's truth,'' Wilson said.

Each day after service at the Liberty Township church, Wilson and the other ministers make an announcement reminding members to support the campaign and sign the petition. Three tables are set up at each exit at Princeton Pike, where volunteers collect signatures and help register new voters.

Opponents have said the proposed amendment is an attempt to help President Bush win Ohio. Bush supports a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry opposes it.

But Phil Burress, the Cincinnati-based chairman of the Campaign to Protect Marriages, which favors the state amendment, said the political incentives are something he did not originally foresee.

"When politics was brought into this I was surprised because we were accused of doing this to influence the election. Now that the question has been raised, it sure peaked the influence of both parties,'' Burress said. "It's not influencing our decision. We want to get on the ballot to protect marriage.''

The issue is bringing people to the polls.

Kathy Hauck, a 55-year-old Northgate resident and a member of the Princeton Pike Church of God, said she has never voted before. But this year is different.

"Times are changing. Things are changing, and as Christians we need to step up to the plate,'' Hauck said.

The marriage amendment initiative comes even though Gov. Bob Taft signed the Defense of Marriage Act on Feb. 3. It defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.

The constitutional amendment reiterates the simple definition of marriage. It also prohibits the state and any of its political subdivisions - such as cities or townships - from creating or recognizing "a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."

Ohioans for Growth and Equality, a gay and lesbian lobbying group, is building a campaign to keep the marriage amendment off the ballot.

Ian James, the campaign's political director, said the goal is to educate the public on the consequences of the proposed amendment.

"The constitution is there to protect Ohioans and what they are doing cannot be allowed,'' James said. "It has far-reaching ramifications. They are going to hurt businesses and families across the board, and that action cannot take place.''

James said if the amendment passes it would not only affect gays and lesbians, but also senior citizens and other heterosexual couples who live together. .

The push for a constitutional amendment also is taking place at the federal level. Although a federal Defense of Marriage Act was adopted in 1996, the U.S. Senate will vote on a proposed federal amendment to the U.S. Constitution Tuesday.

The proposed amendment

"Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state and its political subdivisions. This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."

For more details about the dueling campaigns, check: www.Ohiomarriage.com or www.Ohioansforgrowth.org