Fairness for All Families, a coalition of hundreds of gay and progressive groups in Florida, is campaigning against a proposed state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Photo courtesy Fairness for all Families)
Fla. divided on gay marriage amendment Phone banking revs up as Nov. 4 vote draws near
With
one
month
until
Florida
voters
go
to
the
polls
to
decide
the
fate
of
a
constitutional
ban
on
same-sex
marriage,
opponents
of
that
measure
are
fighting
to
keep
it
under
the
60
percent
threshold
it
needs
to
succeed.
Recent
polls
on
the
gay
marriage
ban
—
known
as
Amendment
2
—
showed
the
measure
lacking
enough
support
to
be
added
to
the
Florida
Constitution,
although
passage
of
Amendment
2
was
within
the
poll’s
margin
of
error.
Some
58
percent
of
respondents
in
a
Miami
Herald/St.
Petersburg
Times
conducted
Sept.
14-17
supported
Amendment
2,
while
37
percent
opposed
it
and
5
percent
were
undecided.
The
poll
of
800
Florida
voters
had
a
3.5
percent
margin
of
error.
A
Quinnipiac
University
poll
taken
around
the
same
time
showed
55
percent
of
voters
supporting
Amendment
2,
with
41
percent
opposed.
“It’s
just
right
at
the
razor’s
edge,”
said
Nadine
Smith,
executive
director
of
the
statewide
gay
rights
group
Equality
Florida.
Smith
is
also
a
leader
of
Fairness
for
all
Families,
an
ad-hoc
group
of
more
than
260
organizations
that
have
united
to
defeat
Amendment
2
on
Nov.
4.
“Polling
does
show
a
decline
in
support
for
this
amendment,
and
I
think
that’s
a
result
of
the
massive
statewide
effort
going
on,”
Smith
said.
“The
fact
that
they
haven’t
hit
the
60
percent
mark
in
any
of
the
polling
is
significant.
It’s
great
news,
it’s
important,
but
it
is
by
no
means
a
reason
for
us
to
hold
back.
“This
is
a
leave-nothing-on-the-field
moment
for
fair-minded
Floridians,”
Smith
added.
While
many
gay
activists
have
focused
on
the
battle
to
defeat
California’s
Proposition
8,
a
measure
to
again
ban
gay
marriage
in
the
Golden
State,
there
is
a
battle
just
as
fierce
taking
place
in
the
Sunshine
State
of
Florida.
Republicans
in
the
conservative-leaning
state
favor
Amendment
2
by
a
74-21
percent
margin,
while
50
percent
of
Democrats
support
the
amendment,
according
to
the
Miami
Herald/St.
Petersburg
Times
poll.
Advocates
of
Amendment
2
—
which
secured
a
spot
on
the
Florida
ballot
via
a
voter
petition
drive
in
February
—
were
heartened
by
polling
that
shows
them
within
striking
distance
of
victory
in
November.
“It
shows
this
is
going
to
be
an
extremely
close
race,”
John
Stemberger,
founder
of
the
conservative
group
Florida4Marriage,
told
the
Orlando
Sentinel.
“Our
people
are
very
motivated.
Our
supporters
understand
the
importance
of
the
issue.”
Southern
Voice
requested
an
interview
with
Stemberger
this
week.
After
his
secretary,
Peggy
Ballinger,
called
back
to
confirm
that
Southern
Voice
was
a
gay
newspaper,
Ballinger
said
Stemberger
would
not
respond
to
the
newspaper’s
request.
AMENDMENT
DEFEAT
‘PLAUSIBLE’
Only
one
state
—
Arizona
—
has
ever
defeated
a
proposed
constitutional
amendment
to
ban
same-sex
marriage,
but
Florida
may
be
conducive
to
becoming
the
second
state
to
reject
such
a
proposal.
Unlike
most
states
that
require
a
simple
majority
of
voters
to
ratify
a
constitutional
amendment,
60
percent
of
Floridians
must
vote
for
the
gay
marriage
ban
in
order
for
it
to
be
adopted.
Also,
unlike
in
states
like
Alabama,
Idaho
and
even
Georgia,
Florida
has
“more
well
organized
gay
advocacy
groups,
and
we
have
more
urban
centers,”
said
Michael
Heaney,
assistant
professor
of
political
science
at
the
University
of
Florida.
“Most
of
these
initiatives
have
been
successful
in
relatively
conservative
states,”
said
Heaney,
who
noted
that
Florida
is
a
political
swing
state,
but
leans
conservative.
“I
think
that
the
liberal
advocacy
groups
here
in
Florida,
generally,
are
mobilized
around
this,”
Heaney
said.
“I
think
it’s
definitely
plausible
it
can
be
defeated.”
Same-sex
marriage
advocates
across
the
country
are
also
crossing
their
fingers
for
Amendment
2
to
be
defeated,
but
believe
beating
back
a
constitutional
amendment
requires
a
massive
organizational
and
financial
effort.
“I
don’t
think
we
have
a
campaign
at
that
scale
in
Florida,
but
because
there’s
a
high
threshold
for
passing
the
amendment,
there
is
a
chance
we
could
pull
[a
defeat]
off,”
said
Evan
Wolfson,
executive
director
of
Freedom
to
Marry.
The
Fairness
for
All
Families
campaign
is
hoping
to
raise
$2
million
to
defeat
Amendment
2,
although
figures
are
not
yet
available,
Smith
said.
“As
you
get
closer
to
Election
Day
and
early
voting,
fundraising
is
a
priority,”
Smith
said.
Heaney
also
believes
Amendment
2
has
a
“reasonably
good”
chance
of
passing
Nov.
4,
and
wonders
if
it
will
impact
the
state’s
tourism
industry.
From
Key
West
to
South
Beach,
and
from
Gay
Days
at
Disney
to
Sizzle
and
Aqua
Girl
in
Miami,
Florida
is
always
a
top
destination
for
thousands
of
gay
and
lesbian
tourists.
Gay
tourism
“is
extremely
important”
to
the
economy
of
several
Florida
cities,
said
Jay
Schleuning,
a
public
...
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
FlaGuy954 on 10/3/085:12 PM:
It is my understanding that the passage of Ammendment 2 would make void all domestic partnerships in Florida, whether between heterosexual or gay/lesbian couples. Local governments (such as Broward County) and private corporations (such as American Express) would be prohibited from offering health care and other benefits to domestic partners because domestic partnerships would no longer be recognized. This ammendment affects EVERYONE in domestic partnerships, not just gays and lesbians. It does more than define marriage between a man and woman, it negates other partnerships that now exist.
