Opponents say passage of the measure would have far-reaching effects and endanger civic-sanctioned domestic partnerships between both gay and straight couples. Supporters believe its failure could wind up indoctrinating schoolchildren into the "gay lifestyle."

Either way, emotions are ramping up as churches, human rights organizations and unions representing government workers and teachers wade into the fray.

West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel held a news conference outside city hall last week, asking voters to oppose Amendment 2. Frankel opposes the measure because she believes it would do away with the domestic partnerships allowed by the city, as well as by Delray Beach, Lake Worth and Palm Beach County.

Both sides have been flooded with ugly e-mails and have run statewide television ads.

A recent Mason-Dixon poll showed Amendment 2 has the support of about 57 percent of likely voters, up three points from the previous week but still short of the 60 percent required for constitutional amendments to pass.

Florida Red and Blue, the campaign opposing Amendment 2, cannot keep up with requests for yard signs and other paraphernalia, and contributions are flowing into the group's Web site, spokesman Derek Newton said.

"It's been like somebody's turned on a switch. The energy and numbers of people coming to us who want to help is really remarkable," Newton said.

Last Thursday, for example, the organization received more than 152 online donations before noon, he said.

At the same time, Newton said, vitriolic e-mails and telephone calls also are pouring in.

Supporters of the amendment say the same thing is happening to them.

John Stemberger heads yes2marriage.org, an offshoot of florida4marriage.org, the group he started in 2005 to get the initiative on the ballot.

"The e-mails are ugly. The faxes are ugly. ... It's part of the process, so we're not too stunned by it," he said.

Opponents have trashed yard signs, vandalized billboards and maybe even hacked into his computer at his Orlando law office, though he does not believe that was the work of Florida Red and Blue, Stemberger said.

A $350,000 Florida Red and Blue TV ad campaign has sparked interest, especially among seniors, said Rand Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.

The ads are working, Hoch said. He's fending off calls from seniors confused about the proposal's impact should it pass.

Part of the confusion is due to the language of the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, which limits marriage to a man and a woman and prohibits the state from recognizing any institution that is treated as marriage or is the substantial equivalent.

"If they want to ban gay marriage, that's how it should be worded. But marriage protection? What is that supposed to mean?" asked Hoch, a lawyer.

Frankel was joined Thursday by a Sunrise couple campaigning for Florida Red and Blue.

Helene Milman, 67, and Wayne Rauen, 59, have been together for 25 years but have never married. The reason? Money.

Milman, who is unemployed, receives $13,000 a year in Social Security on behalf of her deceased husband. If she marries, she'll lose the money.

The couple also worry that the law would take away their right to support one another.

Rauen was able to be at Milman's side before her breast cancer operation five years ago. If this law passes, they're afraid that right would be taken away.

"Our privacy is being invaded," said Milman. "I'm not hurting anybody. It's my life."

Stemberger's side also has spent $350,000 on TV ads, spurring Florida Red and Blue to file an election complaint and seek a criminal investigation.

The complaints accuse Stemberger of hiding donors' identities because florida4marriage.org, a political committee that is required by state law to reveal its donors' names and occupations, did not pay for the ads. Instead, the committee reported a $350,000 "in-kind" contribution from Florida Family Action for advertising.

Florida Family Action, a group incorporated by Stemberger, does not have to disclose its donors.

Florida Red and Blue expects to go to court to ask a judge to stop the ads from running until investigations are completed.

The ads are within the law, Stemberger said.

He held two news conferences in Tallahassee within a week outlining supporters' fears about what could happen if the amendment fails. That includes teachers instructing schoolchildren about same-sex marriages, which he and others believe will indoctrinate youngsters into a "gay lifestyle."

Apart from the ads, Stemberger said, he is ramping up activities in Palm Beach County as he is statewide - through volunteer telephone banks.

"That is a huge effort going on statewide on a very quiet local level, but we hope it's effective," he said.