By Chris Cowperthwaite
NBC17

Several thousand people turned out Tuesday for a marriage rally at Halifax Mall, despite temperatures hovering around the mid-20’s.The group is supporting a bill that would put a proposed amendment defining marriage as one woman and one man on the November ballot.

Church groups from all over the state converged on Raleigh, saying North Carolina is a “target” for gay rights supporters, since it is the only state in the southeast that has not passed a similar constitutional amendment.

This same bill has been introduced six times previously, but so far has not made it out of committee.

A small group of gay rights activists stood a short distance away from the rally; Capitol Police would not let them on to Halifax Mall.