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Opponents of same-sex weddings say they will seek a Constitutional amendment to block gay marriage if the U.S. Supreme Court declares gay marriage to be legal throughout the nation.

(Sabrina Eaton, Northeast Ohio Media Group)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - It takes a lot to amend the U.S. Constitution.

But groups that oppose gay marriage say that's their next step if the U.S. Supreme Court decides states throughout the nation must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after hearing cases this spring from states including Ohio.

On Feb. 12, Tea Party Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and several dozen Republicans including Ohio's Jim Jordan, Bob Gibbs, and Bob Latta introduced a proposed constitutional amendment that says:

"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any other than the union of a man and a woman."

In a floor speech that day to mark "National Marriage Week," Huelskamp said he introduced the measure because "judicial activism has thrown the social and legal status of marriage into chaos."

"The overwhelming majority of states that allow same-sex marriage do so because judges have overturned state laws and the will of the people," Champaign County's Jordan agreed in a statement issued to Northeast Ohio Media Group. "This amendment would restore what marriage is and always has been in the U.S."

Same sex couples are currently allowed to marry in 37 states and the District of Columbia.

Huelskamp and other members of Congress have unsuccessfully sought constitutional amendments to block gay marriage for more than a decade. The last time the measure came up for a vote in the U.S. Senate, it failed, despite backing from conservative groups and then-President George W. Bush.

This time around, potential GOP Presidential candidates Ted Cruz, a Texas Senator, and Bobby Jindal, Louisiana's governor, have endorsed such an effort, which would require two-thirds support in both the House and Senate, and approval by three quarters of states.

An uphill battle

U.S. Senate records indicate that 11,623 constitutional amendments were proposed between 1789 and 2014, and just 27 were adopted.

Evan Wolfson, founder and president of the pro-gay marriage Freedom to Marry organization, described the effort to "write discrimination into the Constitution" as "dead as a proposal could be."

He noted that a CNN/ORC poll released on Feb. 19 found that 63% of Americans believe gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry. The poll found that since August 2010, the ratio who view marriage as a constitutional right for same-sex couples has climbed 15 points among Republicans to 42% and 19 points among Democrats to 75%.

Several Republicans in the U.S. Senate - including Ohio's Rob Portman - have publicly said they support same-sex marriage.

Wolfson said GOP presidential candidates from states where gay marriage is currently allowed - such as Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and Scott Walker - "have all worked very hard to stay away from anything like this and really would love to see the Supreme Court bring the country to a national resolution without their having to talk about it other than to say everyone should be treated with respect."

"In state after state, marriage discrimination has ended and there has been no disaster," Wolfson continued. "Nobody has been hurt and the gay people have not used up all the marriage licenses. The American people have accepted this and it's time for the Supreme Court to end this discrimination nationwide."

Brian Brown, who heads the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes gay marriage, said passing such an amendment would be necessary if the Supreme Court rules that "marriage should be redefined all around the country."

He said it "may take some time" for the amendment to pass, and his group will urge members of Congress to back it and will strive to defeat those who don't.

"We're in this for the long haul," says Brown, whose organization will hold an April 25 "March for Marriage" at the U.S. Capitol. "Marriage is the union between a man and a woman. If the court is going to issue an illegitimate ruling saying that, somehow, same-sex marriage is part of the Constitution, it is clear we'll need a constitutional amendment to correct that."

Bowling Green's Latta said he believes that "at a time when the definition of marriage is being argued in the courts, it's the responsibility of Congress to take action and restore a clear marriage policy at the national level."

"I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and this union must be preserved," concurred Gibbs, of Holmes County. "This resolution allows for the democratic process to take place at the state level."