sentences:  The proposed constitutional amendment caused a backlash from Georgian civil society and human rights organizations, which assailed the legislation as way of politicizing this sensitive issue and capitalizing on popular societal prejudices ahead of the upcoming 2016 parliamentary elections.LGBT activists also distanced themselves from suggestions that they would use constitutional ambiguity to seek same-sex marriages, noting that gays in Georgia face much more immediate and existential problems than marriage, such as "physical, psychological and verbal abuse and violence".The constitutional amendment caused a split within the ruling coalition itself, with members of the liberal-leaning Republican Party of Georgia campaigning against the initiative.