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RALEIGH – There are still several weeks until lawmakers head back to Raleigh but advocates are already in high gear making their voices heard on the so-called Marriage Amendment.

“It could possibly come up when we come back on September the 12th,” said Rep. Thom Tillis, the Republican Speaker of the House. “We've got a number of people working on the bill, both sides of the aisle, trying to figure out where the votes are and if they are ready to move it.”

This is a proposal that has at least some support from both sides of the aisle and would let voters decide whether or not to change the state's constitution so that it would mirror current state law prohibiting same sex marriage.

Groups like Equality North Carolina say now is the time to make sure they have all their ducks in row and prepare to get their message out prior to this vote, which they believe will swing the vote in their favor.

“It singles out a particular group for second class status,” said Alex Miller with Equality NC. “It also affects business in North Carolina. I have spoken to many business leaders who said they would not have brought their business to North Carolina if this had been in the constitution or if this battle had been going on at the time that they moved their businesses here.”

Equality NC has already lined up a rally on the legislative grounds, a vigil, as well as press conferences and a postcard campaign.

But there is equal energy on the other side of the issue. Tami Fitzgerald is helping the charge to get this amendment on the books. She says it needed for North Carolina.

“People in North Carolina don't want an activist judge to determine for them what marriage should be,” said Fitzgerald, who is the executive director of the NC Values Coalition. “And this protects marriage by putting it in the constitution so that a judge cannot overturn it.”

The Marriage Amendment proposal is one of several amendments that could be taken up in September. If it is approved by lawmakers it would then need to be approved by voters before it could become law.