Battles over abortion, the dispensing of birth-control pills at public-health clinics, prayer in school, cloning, stem-cell research and posting the Ten Commandments in government buildings have attracted willing and typically conservative warriors from the region.

QUESTION

The constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2 Kentucky ballot asks: "Are you in favor of amending the Kentucky Constitution to provide that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be a marriage in Kentucky, and that a legal status identical to or similar to marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized?"

ELECTION SECTION

• Election 2004 page

Now, a proposed state constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot that would ban gay marriages and civil unions has attracted deep support among voters in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties.

But despite the region's heavy GOP leanings, support for the amendment cuts across party lines.

"I wish we, as Republicans, could take all the credit here on this issue," said Lakeside Park resident Brian Richmond, who advises GOP candidates.

"But there will be a whole lot of Democrats and independents that vote with us because of a basic moral belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.

"I believe that this is not the partisan issue that some have made it out to be," Richmond said.

"The bottom line is that a vast majority of Americans are opposed to same-sex marriage."

The most recent Louisville Courier-Journal Bluegrass poll shows that in Northern Kentucky, 64 percent of likely voters support the ban, 24 percent are opposed and 12 percent are undecided.

Statewide, the number jumps to 72 percent in favor with 22 percent opposed and 6 percent undecided. The poll of 657 likely voters was conducted Sept. 10-15 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Backers of the ban look to Missouri, where a similar amendment was approved by 71 percent of voters on Sept. 18.

Kentucky won't be alone on Election Day. Another 11 states will vote on similar amendments.

If passed, gay couples could not legally marry and receive the same legal rights as male and female married couples.

"We will succeed on Nov. 2 if the people just step up and get involved," said Kent Ostrander, executive director of the faith-based Family Foundation of Kentucky in Lexington.

"The conviction on the issue here in Kentucky is firm," Ostrander said. "The question is whether citizens will display the resolve needed to prevail."

Ostrander's group is coordinating the campaign to pass the amendment.

Opposing the issue is the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, which is getting support from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. They've formed a group called "Vote No on the Amendment."

The group has been aggressive in Louisville by staging rallies and buying billboard advertising. In Northern Kentucky, opponents held a kickoff press conference and rally in early September.

"We have people out all over the place," said Frank Caliguri of Kenton County, a member of the Northern Kentucky Chapter of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance "It's a matter of education and getting to people in the remote areas of the state and even this region."

Opponents have raised more than $2 million but it's unclear how much will be spent in this region.

Dr. Michael Thomson, who heads the political science department at Northern Kentucky University, said the amendment opponents have "no chance" of winning.

But once the amendment passes, Thomson expects a quick court challenge to the ban.

"It's a moral issue," Thomson said. "A constitutional amendment is really not the appropriate place for social change, but since it's on the ballot, people are going to come out and vote for it."

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com