LITTLE ROCK (AP) – A ballot measure that would put a ban on same-sex marriage in Arkansas’ constitution could threaten the legal arrangements of unmarried heterosexual couples, according to a legal expert and opponents of the proposal.

But the amendment’s authors say it is a straightforward measure that would simply assure that same-sex unions are not recognized by the state.

Arkansas voters will decide the issue in the Nov. 2 general election. State law already bans same-sex marriage, but supporters of the amendment say such a ban needs to be in the constitution to protect Arkansans from “activist judges” who could overturn the state law.

John DiPippa, constitutional law professor and associate dean of the law school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, fears the amendment could have unintended consequences.

“There are hundreds of legal connections to marriage and the status of being married creates certain rights and responsibilities automatically,” DiPippa said.

He predicted the amendment could be especially troublesome for Arkansans working for companies that extend benefits to domestic partners.

“The amendment could easily be read to say that only things we call marriage could be treated as marriage. While it wouldn’t prevent private companies from [extending benefits], it could mean the state wouldn’t recognize the benefits if there was ever a dispute,” he said.

The amendment’s author, Little Rock attorney Robert Shafer, said he doubted that could happen. Instead, he said the amendment’s intent is simple to prevent the state from recognizing same-sex marriage.

“Our purpose was to make it neutral as to business. It restates the definition of traditional marriage,” he said.

John Thomas, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Marriage Amendment Committee, which led the drive to put the amendment on the ballot, agreed.

“A lot of thought went into the wording of [the amendment]. We wanted to be very specific about the impact it might have,” Thomas said. He added that the group borrowed language that is being considered in other states.

“I think things are being said just for the purpose of muddying the waters,” he said.

But Eric Reece, executive director of the Arkansas Equality Network, a group fighting the amendment, said he fears voters could create a tangle of legal problems by approving the amendment.

“The concern lies with how far reaching this will be,” Reece said. “We believe it can infringe on heterosexual couples who are not married but are in some sort of legal arrangement.”

The first section of the amendment defines marriage as “only the union of one man and one woman.”

Section 2 says that, “legal status for unmarried persons which is identical or substantially similar to marital status shall not be recognized in Arkansas, except that the Legislature may recognize a common law marriage from another state between a man and a woman.”

A third section specifies that the Legislature would have the power “to determine the capacity of persons to marry, subject to this amendment, and the legal rights, obligations, privileges and immunities of marriage.”