|
 Battle Intensifies Over Fla. Anti-Gay
Amendment
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: March 27, 2008 - 1:00 pm ET
(Tallahassee) The two major sides in the battle
over a proposed amendment banning gay marriage squared off in a debate that laid
out their key positions.
John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy
Council and a leader in the umbrella group Florida4Marriage which is pushing the
amendment said that same-sex marriage would open the floodgates of all "aberrant forms of marriage".
Miami attorney Patricia Ireland from Florida Red
and Blue, which opposes the amendment warned that the way the proposal is
crafted it would bar any domestic partner rights for non-married opposite-sex
couples.
The amendment says, "Inasmuch as marriage is
the legal union of only one man and one woman, no other legal union that is
treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or
recognized."
It was certified last month to go on the November
ballot.
Florida already has a law restricting marriage to
opposite-sex couples but Stemberger said the law could be overturned in court.
Both sides in the issue are predicting an intense
battle with polls showing voters divided.
"There are many people who want to bring
their aberrant forms of marriage to the table, and once you open the door,
there's really no end to it," said Stemberger. "If marriage means anything,
then marriage means nothing."
"Logic, biology, tradition and common sense"
dictate that marriage is only for male-female relationships.
Ireland countered that the amendment is so
poorly worded that if it passes it will end up in a legal battle.
"We do know that if Amendment 2 passes, someone is going to be down
the next day at the courthouse, filing a lawsuit saying domestic-partner
benefits are treating people who receive them as if they were married, in
terms of sharing their health care, or retirement benefits or making medical
decisions," said Ireland, the former head of the National Organization
for Women.
The debate lasted two hours. When it was
over a straw poll of the audience by The Tallahassee Democrat found that 45
people opposed the amendment while 12 supported and two said they were
undecided.
Florida4Marriage attempted to have the proposed
amendment placed on the 2006 ballot but fell short of the required number of
signatures. Under Florida law the organization was allowed to continue to add
names to the petition in a bid to get it on the 2008 ballot. Last year it was
discovered that the state GOP was bankrolling the group. (story
An investigation by the St. Petersburg Times into
funding for the Florida4Marriage has found that of the $193,000 that had been
raised by the group $150,000 came from a single donor - the Florida Republican
Party.
Florida Red & Blue which boasts both
Democrats and Republicans among its members last year amassed more than $1
million to battle the proposed amendment in its first 60 days.
Florida has a higher bar than most states for the
approval of constitutional amendments. It must be approved by 60 percent
of voters.
©365Gay.com 2008
|
Entertainment
