With numerous state bans overturned and the Supreme Court preparing to take on the issue of gay marriage, GOP lawmakers are working to undermine the effort through a series of state bills that would encourage government officials to not honor such nuptials.

One Texas lawmaker, for instance, is introducing a bill that would strip the salaries from government officials who honor licenses for same-sex couples, and other states are seeking to protect officials who opt out of performing the marriages, according to an Associated Press report.

And in Georgia, lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow businesses more latitude in dealing with gay customers.

It’s all part of an effort to, as the former head of the largest Protestant denomination in the country put it, strike back against “erotic liberty.”

The efforts come shortly before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in April, with a decision potentially by June, on whether it should be a constitutional right for gay couples to marry.

But although national opinion polls show that Americans by and large have no problem with gay couples, mostly Republican lawmakers in many states are pushing out legislation that would target gay rights.

However, many of the bills appear unlikely to pass and are probably more political theater than a serious threat to the gay movement, as senior members of the Republican party don’t appear to want to have anything to do with such bills.

The bills do, however, show that there remains a highly organized and still powerful voting block in many states that is opposed to gay rights, and they could be successful in at least forcing a debate over the issue.

The most aggressive bill is in Texas, where a Republican state representative has proposed stripping state and local officials of their salaries if they honor any gay marriage license. A federal judge last year struck down a gay marriage ban that was approved by voters in the state in 2005, although that ruling has been stayed until an appeals court can take up the matter.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Utah, South Carolina, and Virginia want to allow government officials the right to opt out of performing a gay wedding if it violates their religious beliefs.