Floridians Make Move to Protect Traditional Marriage
by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
February 15, 2005
(AgapePress) - A citizens initiative is under way to amend Florida's constitution to preserve marriage as one man and one woman. The amendment has gained the support of the Florida Baptist Association, the Florida Catholic Bishops, and a host of churches and special-interest groups.Florida now joins the efforts of 19 other states where state constitutional amendments protecting marriage are being pursued. Seventeen states have already passed statewide initiatives defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The goal in Florida is to place the amendment on the November 2006 ballot.
The amendment reads: "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."
Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver drafted the Sunshine State's Defense of Marriage Act, which is currently facing several court challenges filed by same-sex couples. He says support for the "Florida Marriage Protection Amendment" is strong in Florida.
Mat Staver | |
"We feel confident that this will make it to the ballot," the attorney says, "and even more confident that once it's on the ballot Floridians will vote overwhelmingly in favor of marriage as the union of one man and one woman." Staver points out that, to date, similar state ballot measures across the country have passed with no less than 57 percent of the vote.Staver explains why he feels it is critical that marriage amendments be established at both state and federal levels.
"I believe that all the states should amend their state constitutions to preserve marriage so that state and federal courts cannot use their state constitution to undermine marriage," he says. "[But] I also believe we need to continue to push forward to amend our federal constitution for the same reason -- so that state or federal courts don't use the federal constitution to undermine marriage."
According to a report in the Florida Baptist Convention, the first goal of the initiative is to collect 80,000 signatures from voters across the state supporting the amendment. Those signature would then be sent to the Florida Supreme Court for review and approval by April. Following the court's approval, one million valid voter signatures will be needed for the measure to appear on the November 2006 ballot.
