A North Dakota equal rights group says a proposed state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages would drive youth out of the state and promote discrimination.

Equality North Dakota is urging people statewide to "decline to sign" petitions circulated by the North Dakota Family Alliance that pushes the state to define marriage as "a legal union between a man and woman."

Equality North Dakota, a gay rights organization, unveiled its "decline to sign" campaign at a pair of press conferences Tuesday in Bismarck and Fargo.

The group hopes to stop the North Dakota Family Alliance petition drive, which seeks to gain 25,688 voters' signatures by Aug. 3 to get the issue on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Jon Lindgren, Fargo's former mayor and an officer in the national group "Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays," said this is the first time one group of North Dakotans has tried to drive another group out of the state.

"This comes at an unfortunate time," Lindgren said, noting North Dakota needs all its people to help improve the state's economy.

But Christina Kindel, director of the Family Alliance, said the "decline to sign" campaign won't derail the ongoing petition drive.

So far, about 4,000 signatures have been turned in, but the majority of petitions are still circulating, said Kindel, also chairwoman of the North Dakota Campaign to Protect Marriage.

She expects a rush of signatures the last week of the campaign.

"I think it's sad" that there are people who think citizens shouldn't be allowed to vote on something so important, Kindel said.

"This is not about being anti-gay," she said. "It's about supporting and upholding marriage."

Lindgren said supporters of the amendment falsely believe it will "save" heterosexual marriage.

"There has never been a heterosexual marriage that has failed because of gay marriages," he said.

Lindgren wasn't the only person speaking out against the Family Alliance petition drive Tuesday.

Chris Stoner, a 26-year-old Grand Forks college student, said he's concerned the same-sex marriage ban will send a poor message to young people who are trying to decide where to make their home.

The Family Alliance is promoting fear and showing people that discrimination is acceptable, said Stoner, who said he was gay.

Equality North Dakota is combating the Family Alliance's petition efforts by circulating its own "statement of support," which says the proposed amendment is "discriminatory and does not fit with the desires of youth for a better tomorrow."

John Strand, a founding member of Equality North Dakota and editor and publisher of the High Plains Reader newspaper, also spoke at Fargo's Tuesday press conference, as did Andrea Warre n-Deegan, assistant director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, which also opposes the same-sex marriage ban.

Fargo's Human Rights Commission also will consider its position on the issue at an 8:30 a.m. meeting today in a second-floor room at the Fargo Civic Center.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Mary Jo Almquist at (701) 241-5531