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Baptists: Ban same-sex marriage

The Florida Baptist Convention wants a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and woman.

JACKSONVILLE - Florida Baptists on Tuesday approved a resolution calling for a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.

The Florida Baptist Convention, at its 150th annual meeting, approved unanimously and without discussion the resolution by the Rev. Jay Dennis, pastor of First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland.

The resolution calls for a constitutional marriage amendment "that defines marriage as the union between a man and a women and is the God-ordained building block of the family and the bedrock of society."

"This is an issue that the church should awaken to. The church is the voice of morality," Dennis said.

On Election Day, voters in 11 states approved bans on same-sex marriages.

Amendments passed in Mississippi, Montana and Oregon referred only to marriage, specifying it is limited to a union between one man and one woman. Measures approved in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah banned civil unions as well.

Gov. Jeb Bush said there is no need for a constitutional amendment in Florida, because federal and state defense-of-marriage laws already address the issue.

Congress in 1996 passed the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which permitted states to ban same-sex marriages and to refuse to give legal recognition to such unions performed elsewhere. Florida lawmakers passed such legislation the following year.

"We don't believe that goes far enough," Dennis said.

Bush said he is sure the Legislature would be enthusiastic about supporting a measure that would keep marriage between a man and a woman if the landscape changes and an amendment is needed.

There are two ways to get a constitutional issue before Florida voters: approval by the Legislature, or by circulating initiative petitions for voters to sign. Dennis said he would like to enlist the help of other churches in pursuing either option.

At least seven lawsuits filed across the state this year challenge the constitutionality of both the state law and the federal law upon which it was modeled. One suit demands that the government recognize the union of a lesbian couple issued a marriage license in Massachusetts.

The Rev. Geoff Leonard-Robinson, pastor of Key West's Metropolitan Community Church, is a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits. He criticized the Baptist resolution.

"From a civil rights standpoint, it denies equal access. It is writing discrimination into the Constitution," said Leonard-Robinson. " ... Civil rights have never been determined by a popular vote."

The Florida Baptist Convention represents 2,853 congregations and has 1-million members. It is a branch of the Southern Baptist Convention, which has 16.3-million members nationwide.