Unless the ruling is reversed on appeal by Aug. 7, Gov. Sonny Perdue said this week that he will call for a special legislative session to put another gay marriage amendment on the ballot in November.

The gay-marriage measure drove Georgia conservatives to the polls in 2004. Now, with Perdue facing a potentially strong Democratic challenge in his bid for re-election and Republicans looking to continue their lock on the state Legislature, it could provide the GOP with a rallying cry this November.

"They can use it to try to fire up the conservative base in the state and get them out to vote," University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said.

Georgia's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage passed by a 3-1 margin in 2004. Perdue on Wednesday complained that the popular will of the people had been undermined by "an activist judge."

Even if the gay-marriage ban doesn't end up on the ballot in November, Bullock said the ruling succeeds in shifting the political debate to Republican "values issues."

Baker also asked for an expedited review, although he also noted the state already has a law on the books that makes it clear same-sex marriage is not recognized in Georgia and only the constitutional amendment was struck down.

A request for an expedited appeal must be approved by the judges of the Georgia Supreme Court. A spokesman for the court said while the case might be heard before August, the court's docket is already filling up into September.

Perdue said Wednesday that the court must rule by Aug. 7 because all ballot language must be filed with the Secretary of State's Office by Aug. 14 to allow time for ballots to be printed. A special session of the Legislature could last at least a week and cost more than $32,000 a day.

The ruling by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Constance C. Russell said the measure violated the state's single-subject rule for ballot issues. Russell, who was appointed to the bench in 1996 by Democratic Gov. Zell Miller, wrote in her ruling that the measure asked voters to decide on gay marriage and civil unions in a single amendment. She did not address the issue of whether gay couples should be allowed to wed.

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