A Fulton County judge blocked a move Sept. 29 by groups looking to stop a Nov. 2 vote on a same-sex marriage amendment to the state constitution.

"It just affirms what we thought would happen," says Ray Newman, specialist with Ethics and Public Affairs of the Georgia Baptist Convention. 'The people of Georgia will now have a chance to express themselves at the ballot box Nov. 2.'

Opponents filed a lawsuit Sept. 16 to keep it off the Nov. 2 ballot. The lawsuit was filed by the Georgia American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal, two groups that say the ballot question is "deceptive" and unconstitutional.

The groups say it is unconstitutional because it deals with more than one subject - for instance, it bans both same-sex "marriage" and Vermont-style civil unions.

Having lost in Missouri, marriage amendment opponents are filing legal challenges in several states - including Arkansas, Oklahoma and Ohio - to keep amendments off the ballot. Another lawsuit, in Louisiana, failed.