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Bush cool to amendment for gay marriage ban

The governor says that unless courts try to revise existing law, a constitutional amendment is not required.

As a group launched a petition drive Monday aimed at writing a ban on gay marriage into the Florida Constitution, Gov. Jeb Bush said he was not convinced of the need.

While sharing the group's opposition to same-sex marriage, the governor said he thinks a state law prohibiting it is sufficient for now.

"If there was ever indication that the courts were going to change (the law) and therefore there needed to be protection in the Constitution, then I would support that initiative," Bush said during an appearance in Jacksonville. "Until such time as I can see that there is that threat looming, then I believe the Constitution shouldn't be changed unless it is necessary."

To put the amendment before the voters in November 2006, Florida4Marriage.org must collect 611,001 valid signatures by next February. Also, the Florida Supreme Court would have to review whether the proposal meets state requirements that it be clear and deal with only one subject.

The group's leaders said an amendment is necessary to stem the possibility of an "activist" judiciary overturning the law against gay marriage. Currently, there are five lawsuits challenging the statute in the state court system.

"Marriage is too important to allow one judge somewhere, at some time to undermine the institution that is precious to all Floridians," said Mat Staver, president of the conservative legal group Liberty Counsel. Representatives of the Christian Coalition of Florida, the Southern Baptist Convention and Exodus International also attended the announcement in Orlando.

The political committee, also known as the Florida Coalition to Protect Marriage, is confident of the amendment's passage, noting that similar measures passed in all 11 states where it was on last November's ballot. In all, 17 states have written bans on gay marriage into their constitutions.

"We know homosexual marriage isn't the only threat to marriage today, but rather one of many," said Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, an organization that says it can turn homosexuals into heterosexuals "through the power of Jesus Christ."

"However, the imminent threat before us is here, and therefore action is required," Chambers said.

The American Civil Liberties Union called the measure "a smokescreen" for rolling back domestic partner benefits for public servants, and more.

"If a corporation provides domestic partnership benefits to the unmarried partners, gay or straight, of their employees ... this would be a basis for a legal challenge to say that the corporation violates the Constitution of the state of Florida," said Howard Simon, the ACLU's executive director in Florida.

The gay rights organization Equality Florida also decried the proposed amendment, saying its aims are exclusionary.

[Last modified February 15, 2005, 01:15:09]