By Jim Siegel
Enquirer Columbus Bureau

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."

COLUMBUS - After reviewing petitions from four rural counties, an attorney representing opponents to a proposed gay marriage amendment already predicts the issue will not get on the November ballot.

Donald McTigue said Thursday he plans to file his first legal challenges to those petitions by Monday, beginning what could be a lengthy legal process designed to tie up the issue in court long enough to keep it away from voters.

McTigue said he has reviewed petitions certified in Marion, Morrow, Fulton and Sandusky counties and has found "numerous errors."

These include improperly filling out paperwork that shows how much petitioners were paid, and improper changes in the number of signatures witnessed by each petitioner, he said.

"We have only seen four counties, but if those four are indicative of the rest, this petition has problems in terms of making it to the ballot," McTigue said. "I don't see how all the errors can be addressed before the November election."

David Langdon, the Cincinnati-area attorney who wrote the amendment, said he has a team of lawyers around the state ready to assist his group, the Ohio Campaign to Protect Marriage.

"We're not out to prevent them from a fair day in court," he said. "But we're going to make sure they don't purposely stall."

The Ohio Campaign to Protect Marriage collected 391,000 signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. The proposal would eliminate domestic-partner benefits currently offered by four state universities.

Supporters say the amendment is needed to ensure the courts do not force Ohio to recognize gay marriage or civil unions.

Opponents argue the proposal is unnecessary and would have a damaging impact on the state's economy.

County boards of election must certify at least 323,000 signatures for the amendment to appear on the ballot. Opponents can file challenges to those petitions in each county.

Secretary of State Ken Blackwell must give final validation to all signatures by Sept. 23. If the Ohio Campaign comes up short, it gets 10 days to file new signatures.

But if legal challenges are still pending, there is uncertainty whether Blackwell can accept additional signatures. Langdon expects the Ohio Supreme Court to eventually decide the issue.

Blackwell has said the system of placing voter-driven referendums and constitutional amendments on the statewide ballot is too easily thwarted by legal challenges at the county level.

He knows firsthand. His effort to have voters repeal the state's penny sales tax hike was stopped by challenges initiated by McTigue, who was hired by an opposition group.

Blackwell will step in to consolidate challenges to the gay marriage amendment filed in various counties, a spokesman said Thursday. But, McTigue predicts, it still won't leave enough time to get the issue on the ballot.

Of the 4,863 signatures reviewed so far, county boards of election have invalidated 15 percent. If that trend continues, the amendment would have enough signatures to get on the ballot.

If signatures fall short, Phil Burress, chairman of the Ohio Campaign, said his group has collected at least 100,000 additional names.

E-mail jsiegel@enquirer.com