"Most Americans in states like your state, have no idea what the federal courts are about to do, when sometime after the election, lawsuits are filed," Daniels said.

Daniels sees current, and future, litigation that seeks to use the U.S. Constitution overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act as "the real trigger" that could start a serious drive to pass a federal marriage amendment.

Such a lawsuit was filed in California in September, he said. Lawsuits are also pending in other states — Nebraska, New York and Washington, to name a few.

"We will continue to fight for equal treatment in the courts," Matt Coles, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, said in a statement Wednesday. Dani Eyer, director of the Utah ACLU, said she's taking a wait-and-see approach to possible litigation.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com