Say No to Florida Constitutional Amendment 2

On 4 November 2008, voters will vote in the current presidential election. Florida voters will vote on a series of proposed constitutional amendments. Proposed Constitutional Amendment 2 is entitled, euphemistically, Florida Marriage Protection Amendment. This proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as the legal community only "one man and one woman as husband and wife." If passed, it would ban gay marriage and civil unions and would endanger publicly recognized domestic partnerships if they are considered to be "substantially equivalent" to marriage.

Reference to "protect marriage, or gay marriage ban" are misleading as four existing Florida statutes already define marriage as the union of a man and a woman and / or otherwise prohibit the recognition of "gay marriage". legality or recognition of "gay communities" in Florida will be more or less illegal in Florida regardless of the outcome of the proposed amendment.

This vague and broad language could also risk termination of several established domestic relation partnership books that are currently available to millions of Floridians. These registries allow unmarried Floridians to share benefits or other protection, such as hospitals punishment, burial rights and health care benefits. Currently, Miami Beach, Gainesville, West Palm Beach, Key West and Miami / Dade County and Broward and Palm Beach counties have domestic partner's books.

In addition, most Florida universities and more than half of Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partnership benefits. These advantages will be placed at risk, if not outright abolished, if this amendment passes. non-partisan and independent Office of Economic and Demographic research is cited this concern in finding: "that domestic partnership registries are considered substantially equivalent to marriage, their termination could place the registration in danger of losing specified rights and benefits such as those related to health insurance ". The text of Amendment 2 is similar to a constitutional amendment that Michigan passed in 2004, the Michigan Supreme Court later ruled prohibits employers like universities and cities from extending benefits to domestic partners.

As Floridians, we should be worried about the range of impacts Amendment 2 could have on us and our neighbors. This is simply not worth the risk that Amendment 2 could take away existing legal protection and benefits of even a Floridian. Accordingly, I request that readers of this blog oppose the adoption of Amendment 2 and ask your friends and neighbors to join us in speaking and voting against the inappropriate provision.