Activists in Arkansas on Saturday
launched a campaign to legalize gay marriage in the state.
Supporters kicked off a petition drive
to put the issue on the 2016 ballot at the fourth annual Arkansas
Coalition for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ) rally held on the steps of
the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock.
Activists are looking to move Arkansas
into the marriage equality column with two referendums. The first
vote, expected to take place this November, would repeal Amendment
83, the state's 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment limiting
marriage to heterosexual couples.
According to a
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) poll of 600 adults conducted last
year, only 38 percent of Arkansans support marriage equality and 55
percent remain opposed.
Eleven gay and lesbian couples have
also filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of
Amendment 83.
On the net: Arkansas
Initiative for Marriage Equality