ATLANTA (AP) – Another January, another dreaded legislative session for Georgia’s beleaguered gay lobby.

Fresh off a failed try to tank the state’s new constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, gay rights advocates are bracing for proposals that could limit their ability to adopt children and discourage students from joining gay-friendly clubs.

Yet activists say there’s a glimmer of hope for their cause this session: Enough Georgia lawmakers may find the legislation so egregious that they will vote it down.

The constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, which Georgia voters overwhelmingly approved in 2004, divided some in the GLBT community. Some argued that civil unions should be debated by lawmakers before the issue of marriage was broached.

A bid to prohibit same-sex couples from adopting children would have the opposite effect, polarizing the entire community while drawing compassion from mainstream voters throughout the state, said Chuck Bowen, executive director of Georgia Equality.

“It’s not about taking away rights from gays and lesbians as much as it is denying the best opportunity for family and children,” Bowen said. “By injecting children into the argument, they don’t have the same strength they had.”

No known sponsors have materialized yet for a proposed ban on gay adoptions, but the idea is being discussed, said Senate president pro-tem Eric Johnson, a Savannah Republican.

“I hear background noise, but I haven’t heard any specific legislation or author,” Johnson said.

Pro-gay lawmakers aren’t holding their breath, said state Rep. Karla Drenner, Georgia government’s only openly gay lawmaker. When the session starts Jan. 9, she said, “bills take on a life of their own.”

And gay advocates aren’t encouraged by Gov. Sonny Perdue’s recent appointment of Mary Dean Harvey to head the state’s Division of Family and Children Services. When in a similar role in Nebraska, Harvey issued a directive barring foster children from being placed with same-sex or unmarried couples.

“We feel like the extreme conservative right feel like after the election last year, they have us on the run,” Bowen said. “They’ll continue to chip away at any rights gays and lesbians might have.”

The lobby will also play defense on a revived push from lawmakers to require parental notification before students can join school clubs.

State Rep. Bobby Reese, R-Sugar Hill, plans to push his version of the bill, which died in committee in the last session, as will Sen. Nancy Schaefer.

Schaefer, a Turnerville Republican, said the legislation is not meant to be a “sneak attack” against gay-friendly clubs under the guise of seemingly harmless language.

“All it does is let parents know the clubs available in their child’s school. It’s up for parents to give permission,” she said. “Parents today need to be notified of everything that affects their child.”

While Schaefer said the proposal is intended only to inform parents, some see it as a way to legislate morality and curb gay-straight alliances.

Beth Sherouse knows firsthand the struggles that outside pressure can have on recruiting. She once led the Mercer Triangle Symposium, the gay-straight alliance at Mercer University in Macon, before it folded in November due to pressure from the Baptist Convention.

At Mercer, she says, it’s not too difficult to find like-minded peers to join the club. But in high school, where peer pressure and living under a parent’s thumb can seem confining, requiring a parent’s OK could devastate membership.

“It’s pretty ridiculous,” she said. “If a kid wants to join a club, they should be able to join a club.”

Looming large throughout the session is perhaps the gay lobby’s greatest unknown: A judge’s impending decision on a challenge to the state’s same-sex marriage ban.

A ruling in the closely-watched lawsuit was expected months ago by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Constance Russell, but still no decision has come down.

Opponents argued in court that the constitutional amendment was flawed because it addresses more than one subject. They also claimed the summary that voters saw on the ballot was misleading.

“Hopefully, this legislative session will see legislators concentrating on things important to Georgians – like economy, jobs and health care for citizens – and not get sidetracked on agenda,” said Jack Senterfitt, who challenged the amendment on behalf of the gay rights organization Lambda Legal.