"That's part of the reason why the Legislature made this available to the public to change the constitution, to try and avoid some of those issues," he said. "(Don't Amend will) have several points to try to hit home. . . . That's difficult to do on an issue like this."

Missouri's amendment was the first to go before voters since last year's ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

Four states — Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska and Nevada — already ban same-sex marriage in their constitutions.

Voters in Utah, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma and Oregon will vote on a marriage amendment later this year. In Michigan the Secretary of State's office has yet to certify some 475,000 signatures to put an amendment on that state's ballot, far more than the 317,000 needed Initiatives are also pending in North Dakota and Ohio.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com