More than 50 ministers across Kansas called upon voters Friday to vote against a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.

In a letter to the public, the ministers said the amendment violates a basic tenet of all faiths, which is to treat all people equally, with respect and love. Passage of the amendment, which is on the April 5 ballot, would hurt thousands of Kansans and make their lives harder, the letter said.

“For me, as a Christian, if I am taking the faith seriously, there's only one way I could vote and that's no,” said the Rev. Robert Meneilly, a letter signer who is the retired pastor of the Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village. “If we are all made by the same God in the same image, we should all have the same rights.”

The letter is posted at www.kansansforfairness.org, the home of Kansans for Fairness, a coalition of groups that support human rights. Among those signing it were the Rev. Larry Keller of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Overland Park, the Rev. Holly McKissick of St. Andrew Christian Church in Olathe and the Rev. Tarris Rosell, associate professor at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kan.

Bruce Ney, president of Kansans for Fairness, said the letter was put together by clergy members who “are somewhat taken aback by the idea that every Christian religion in the state of Kansas backs this amendment when, in fact, that is not true. This was their attempt to make that clear and get the word out.”

In the letter, the clergy say that “it is not the state government's role to codify one religious interpretation of the Bible, or one religion over another in the Kansas Constitution. To the contrary, the great contribution of our Constitution is to protect the rights of all faiths.”

The Rev. Jerry Johnston , pastor of First Family Church in Overland Park and a leader in the effort to pass the amendment, said the views of the “small group” of ministers do not reflect the views of the majority.

“Religious liberty is to set people free by the power of the gospel, and the aim of all the vast majority who believe in this amendment is to protect marriage,” Johnston said.

If homosexuals receive rights, he said, what's to stop defenders of group marriages from asking for their rights, he said. All of the states that have had an opportunity to vote on a ban on gay marriage have approved it, Johnston said, adding he thinks it will pass in Kansas also.

The campaign in favor of the amendment is led by One Voice of Kansas Inc., a (hateful) nonprofit group.

Besides defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman, the amendment would prohibit the state from granting marriage in other relationships.