(RALEIGH) -- Opponents to a proposed constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot in May are beginning to ramp up their efforts to defeat the measure. Sam Parker of Equality North Carolina said the separation of church and state rule should keep a definition of marriage out of the state constitution.

"I think that we should keep our beliefs out of our constitution in the sense of, there's already a law that prohibits same sex marriage and so adding this to the constitution is just going a step beyond and a step further than we need to," said Parker.

Parker said the amendment would make heterosexual marriage the only recognizable union in the state, thereby prohibiting civil unions and domestic partnerships.

Charlotte Pastor Mark Harris is the President of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention. His organization voted last year to support the proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage in North Carolina.

"We're going to be sending out the message and hopefully communicating through pastors and through christian leaders across this state that God is the designer of marriage and the union between one man and one woman is timeless, universal and special," said Harris.

Parker counters that the effort to amend the constitution is blatant discrimination because the law already bans same sex marriages.

(Thanks to: WWNC)