Florida Marriage Amendment (2008)
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The Florida Marriage Amendment, also known as Proposition 2 and The Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed initiated constitutional amendment to the Florida Constitution that appeared on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Florida. In order to pass, the amendment required a 60% majority of those voting in the election.
The ballot language said, "This amendment protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and provides that no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."
Proposition 2 was the 29th citizen-initiated measure to appear on a Florida statewide ballot.
Election results
| Florida Marriage Amendment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | |||
 Yes
| 4,645,602 | 62.1% | ||
| No | 2,833,052 | 37.9% | ||
| Total votes | 7,478,654 | 100% | ||
Results according to the Florida Department of State[1]
Background/Specifics
Other states
Voters in twenty-six other states have passed constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage. Two others states, Arizona (Proposition 102) and California (Proposition 8) also had proposed amendments on the November ballot.
Existing statutes in Florida
Two existing Florida statutes prohibit same-sex marriage:
- Florida Statute 741.212(1) defines marriage as the legal union between one man and one woman and provides that the term "spouse" applies only to a member of such union (FL. Stat. 741.212(1),(3)).
- Florida also adopted a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1997 which was codified as Florida Statute 741.212.
Judicial language
The amendment as written included a clause prohibiting judges from overturning the law. This was a response to what happened in Massachusetts, where a judge overturned that state's law banning same-sex marriage.[2]
Support
Supporters included:
- Florida4Marriage, sponsor[3]
- Florida Governor Crist[4]
- W. James Favorite, pastor of Beulah Baptist Institutional[5]
On Sep 30, a group of church leaders from around the country met outside the Miami-Dade County Courthouse to show their support of Amendment 2. In general, Florida's religious community was strongly in favor of the measure.[6]
Arguments in favor
Notable arguments made in support of the measure included:
- Supporters say the amendment would protect children by ensuring that only the form of marriage between a man and a woman would ever be celebrated in Florida.
- The Florida statute that already provides for a single form of marriage could be overturned by a court on constitutional grounds.
- As the campaign heads into its final week, the main argument supporters of the proposition are making is that if the amendment fails, school children could be indoctrinated in the gay lifestyle.[7]
Opposition
Opponents included:
- Florida Red and Blue[8]
- The NAACP[5]
- Rabbi Bruce Diamond[9]
- The ACLU[10]
- Florida League of Women Voters [1]
- Fairness for All Families [2]
Arguments in opposition
Notable arguments made in opposition to the measure included:
- The petition as acting as bait for the Presidential election in order to draw out conservative voters; there is already enough legislation in place currently.[11]
- Health care and pension benefit plans which cover unmarried couples, even heterosexual older couples, living together and which are now legally valid may be adversely affected.
- Article I of the Florida Constitution, known as the Declaration of Rights, establishes rights, but this amendment would instead limit the right to marry.
- There are already other Florida Laws that expressly prohibit homosexual unions, so this amendments purpose is much larger than that and if passed will be used to restrict all relationships that are not a legal marriage under Florida's Statutes.
- Opponents say that elderly people in the state who, after being widowed, have subsequently chosen a domestic partnership in order to retain certain benefits, will be adversely impacted by the measure.[12]
Financing the opposition
Amendment 2 was one of three ballot measures that appeared on November ballots around the country to ban same-sex marriage. Of these, the highest profile battle surrounded California Proposition 8. According to Stephen Gaskill, a spokesperson for Florida Red and Blue, the focus on the California measure complicated fundraising efforts for those fighting Florida Amendment 2.
Gaskill said, "Certainly if the California effort was not underway, it would be easier for Florida to raise money — that’s just a reality."[13]
Opponents file October lawsuit
Lawyers for the Florida Red and Blue amendment opposition group filed a lawsuit on October 28 to force the pro-amendment group to disclose its donors and take their TV ads off the air. The lawsuit seeks:
- The identification of donors to two groups, the Florida Family Action and the Florida Family Policy Council. These groups are headed by John Stemberger and are linked to the political campaign committee, Florida4Marriage, that put the initiative on the ballot.
- Florida4Marriage did not itself pay for a recent burst of pro-amendment TV advertising; rather, F4M (which is required to disclose its donors) reported an in-kind donation from the Florida Family Action group. That group says it is not required to disclose its donors; the lawsuit challenges that contention.
Shortly after Florida Red and Blue announced the filing of the lawsuit, Stemberger issued a press release criticizing the group for avoiding the issue of gay marriage in its anti-Amendment 2 campaign and instead raising concerns about the proposal’s impact on domestic partnerships between both straight and gay couples, particularly seniors.[14]
Polls
- See also Polls, 2008 ballot measures.
| Month of Poll | In Favor | Opposed | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2008 | 55 percent | 41 percent | 9 percent[15] |
Newspapers
Florida's newspapers, according to one source, were united in their opposition to the amendment ("...every single daily newspaper in Florida has taken a position against Amendment 2").[16]
Path to the ballot
The initiative was able to collect enough signatures in order to qualify for the 2008 general election.[17] This was done by volunteer circulators gathering 92,000 signatures, roughly 7,000 a day, in order to ensure the qualification of the measure.[18]
See also
- Florida 2008 ballot measures
- For information on other citizen initiatives that attempted but failed to make the ballot, see Florida 2008 citizen initiatives.
- Florida ballot initiative news
- Procedures for qualifying an initiative in Florida
- Laws governing the initiative process in Florida
- Campaign finance requirements for Florida ballot measures
External links
Basic information
- Initiative information from Florida Secretary of State
- Marriage amendment ballot language PDF of the petition that was circulated
Supporters/materials
Opponents/materials
- Say No 2
- Vote No on 2
- Florida Red and Blue (Group opposing the initiative)
- Fairness For All Families, website of opponents
References
- ↑ Florida Department of State
- ↑ Herald Tribune: "Amendment banning same-sex marriages closing in on ballot spot in November 2008," Nov. 5, 2007
- ↑ Christian Newswire: "Marriage Leaders Blast Opponents for Deception and Scare Tactics," Dec. 13, 2007
- ↑ Washington Blade: "Florida Gov. announces support of amendment 2," August 6, 2008
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Florida Baptist Witness: "African-American pastors rally in support of marriage amendment," Sep 26, 2008
- ↑ Miami Herald: "Church leaders unite to back gay-marriage ban," Oct 1, 2008
- ↑ Palm Beach Post, "If Amendment 2 fails, backers say kids will be led into 'gay lifestyle'", October 22, 2008
- ↑ Christian Newswire: "Marriage Leaders Blast Opponents for Deception and Scare Tactics," Dec. 13, 2007
- ↑ News Press: "Florida marriage amendment intrudes in private matters," Nov. 19, 2007
- ↑ News-Press.com: "ACLU urges opposition to marriage amendment," March 23, 2008
- ↑ Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation blog: "South Florida Press Critical of Upcoming Ballot Initiative," March 6, 2008
- ↑ Emory Wheel, "Get your grandma to support gay marriage"
- ↑ Washington Blade: "Calif. draining money from Fla. amendment fight," July 18, 2008
- ↑ Palm Beach Post, "Amend 2 opponents file lawsuit as tensions over gay marriage flare", October 28, 2008
- ↑ News-Press.come: "Poll: Most Florida voters support gay marriage ban amendment, but not enough for passage," Sep. 8, 2008
- ↑ An open letter to opponents of Amendment 2
- ↑ Edge Boston: "Anti-Gay Fla. Initiative Will Appear on Nov. Ballot," Feb. 3, 2008
- ↑ The Bulletin: "Florida Puts Marriage Amendment On Ballot," Feb. 4, 2008
