Some 635,000 signatures in defense of marriage and family were presented to the Argentinean Senate, as legislators consider legalizing same-sex unions and adoption by same-sex couples.

Senator Liliana Negre de Alonso, president of the Senate’s General Legislation Commission, received Monday representatives of various institutions who handed her 524,000 signatures and a statement supported by more than 400 organizations. A separate 110,000 signatures were also turned in from people who are urging lawmakers to put the issue before a popular vote.

The five spokesmen presenting the signatures affirmed that they represent the will of the people and that the nation’s Senate cannot ignore it.

Senator Negre de Alonso promised to make the signatures and the material collected at the marches, such as photos and videos, known to the other senators.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina