Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Texas lawmakers say an amendment banning gay marriage will be approved by voters, helped by low turnout and support from groups as diverse as Hispanic leaders and the Ku Klux Klan.

The measure, called Proposition 2, would strengthen a state law that limits marriage to a man and a woman by making it part of the constitution. The action will protect the law from being overturned by a judge, said state Representative Warren Chisum, a Republican from Pampa, who wrote the amendment.

The proposition will likely pass by a 2-to-1 margin in part because of lower turnout, said Robert Stein, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. Fewer than 20 percent of the state's 12 million voters will cast ballots on Nov. 8, according to the secretary of state's office. Groups in favor of the initiative drummed up support with fliers, rallies and recorded telephone calls.

``Most of the people who go to the polls in this election already know how they are going to vote,'' said James Taylor, an attorney who lives near Texarkana. Taylor said he was considering filing a complaint against a group called Save Texas Marriage, which called residents to deliver a recorded message opposing the amendment.

`Unusual Voices'

Last year, amendments to ban same-sex marriage in 12 states helped decide other races, including the re-election of U.S. President George W. Bush. The issue drew people out to vote, making a difference in so-called battleground states.

The Texas election has become a fight among special-interest groups because there are few issues and no campaigns for statewide office, said Calvin Jillson, professor of political science at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

``Since there are no candidates, it's very quiet, and unusual voices get heard when they might have otherwise been drowned out,'' Jillson said.

The Klan is holding a rally in Austin today. The city limited the gathering to a specific area and allowed only 50 members and their invited guests, said Jill Maness, Austin's building services officer. Counter protests were relegated to another part of the city.

About 180 police officers will stand guard; the last time the Klan, which advocates white supremacy, rallied there, a riot broke out when protesters mooned the Klansmen.

``Having the Klan involved probably doesn't help my cause,'' said Chisum, who has been campaigning in support of the amendment. ``This is one of those deals where you can't control who signs up on your side.''

All Marriage Illegal?

At events across the state, including a pro-marriage rally in Arlington, leaders of the state's Republican Party joined leaders of the black and Hispanic communities to get voters to the polls in support of the amendment.

Among opponents of the measure is Save Texas Marriage, which is registered as a political action committee with the Texas Ethics Commission. The group, which has a Dallas post office box, sent a recorded message to home phones across the state claiming the language in Proposition 2 would make it possible for all marriages in Texas to be declared illegal.

Lawmakers who wrote the legislation ``left out the words that would prevent heterosexual marriages from being declared illegal,'' the Reverend Tom Heger, a Presbyterian minister, said in the message.

Heger didn't respond to a voice-mail message left for him at Beacon Hill Presbyterian Church in San Antonio.

``A greedy insurance company, tricky divorce lawyer or liberal activist Austin judge can easily overturn traditional marriage and cause people to lose health insurance, tax breaks and pensions,'' the message said.

`Cheap Shot'

Save Texas Marriage raised money to put out the recorded call to point out what it sees as an oversight in the amendment's language, said Margot Clarke, treasurer of group.

``The language of the bill is messed up,'' Clarke said. ``It's poorly written. The legislature was in such a rush to pass a discriminatory law that they overlooked a wording problem.''

Chisum, who called the voice mail a ``scare tactic,'' denied that the amendment's wording would make all marriages vulnerable.

``That's a cheap shot,'' he said. ``We ran this by the attorney general and a number of lawyers specializing in constitutional law before we passed it, and none of them said there was anything wrong with the wording of it.''

Steven Edwards, Grand Dragon of Texas for the American White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, said the rally will help get the word out about the vote. He said his group, which won't be wearing its white robes or hoods today, plans to keep the gathering peaceful and refrain from shouting racial epithets.

``We decided to rally so people would know about the election and come out to vote against the homosexual lifestyle,'' Edwards, who lives in San Angelo, said in a telephone interview. ``It's time for Christians to come out of the closet and vote.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Darrell Preston in Dallas at dpreston@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 5, 2005 09:18 EST