Backers of gay marriage in Ohio are taking another step to try to overturn the state's constitutional ban enacted eight years ago. The Freedom to Marry Coalition planned to submit more than 1,700 signatures of registered Ohio voters Thursday to Attorney General Mike DeWine.
The Columbus Dispatch reports the proposal would change the state Constitution to say that state and political jurisdictions define marriage as a union of two consenting adults, regardless of gender. Eventually supporters will need nearly 400,000 signatures to place the proposal on the ballot this year or next.
Ohio enacted one of the country's strictest bans in 2004 in an effort coordinated with President George W. Bush's re-election campaign.