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