The pastors, supporters of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia, were on hand for a State Capitol news conference Thursday. They want Governor Joe Manchin to call a special session next month to deal with the issue.

They delivered an open letter to his office saying. “Our common belief is that marriage is between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a society that can be home to all human beings, the reflection of our relationship with God, and a cornerstone of our society.”

The governor has already turned down the request saying marriage is already protected.

Cross Lanes Baptist Church Pastor Seth Polk says an amendment to the state constitution would do more. He says state leaders need to protect what is traditional, historical and biblical in its foundations. He says, if not, there will be a continual moving away from a culture that honors neither God nor family.

A poll commissioned by the Family Policy Council of West Virginia shows 73 percent of registered voters in the state say they would support such an amendment.

Pastor Polk says there's overwhelming support so the time is now. He says he's sure supporters of such an amendment in places like Connecticut, Massachusetts and California now wish they wouldn't have waited. "They had a Defense of Marriage Act on the books as well and through judicial whimsy basically it was struck down and marriage was not defended like it should have been even though those people wanted it," Polk said.

The pastor says there's opposition to the proposal but he says it's not an us versus them mindset. "We certainly don't want to disparage anybody that believes differently than we do, but we believe a great majority of West Virginians value family and they want to defend marriage as well and have their voice on it," Polk said.