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Gay marriage vote a step closer

Petition organizers say they nearly have the signatures they need to trigger a Supreme Court review.

By JONI JAMES
Published August 20, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - A proposal to amend the Florida Constitution to ban gay marriage is nearing a major step toward getting on the November 2006 ballot.

Organizers announced Friday they are within days of having enough signatures to trigger a review by the Florida Supreme Court.

The proposal, billed as the "Florida Marriage Protection Amendment," seeks to amend the state Constitution to define marriage as a union between "only one man and one woman" and provides that no other kind of marriage or legal union is equivalent to marriage. Organizers have until Feb. 1 to gather the 611,009 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

Florida4marriage.org was 471 signatures short Friday of the 61,113 needed for judicial review, state elections records show. Organizers said they anticipate reaching the goal by early next week.

But opponents say the Supreme Court should block the measure because it deals with more than one subject.

Not only does it define marriage, it also states that "no other legal union that is treated as marriage . . . shall be valid or recognized."

That violates the constitutional requirement limiting citizen petitions to a single subject, said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, a gay and lesbian rights group.

"What they are proposing is not simply a ban on equal access to marriage," said Smith. "It would also prevent civil unions and domestic partnerships across the state."

Florida already has a state law, passed in 1997, limiting marriage to two persons of the opposite sex.

But Bill Stephens, executive director of the Christian Coalition of Florida, told reporters Friday the amendment is needed because the law might be challenged in court. So the measure seeks to bar the Legislature from changing the definition of marriage.

"When the definition is expanded, it suddenly becomes nothing or meaningless," said Stephens, whose group is among those distributing petitions.

The issue is also expected to have political implications on the 2006 governor's race by drawing conservatives to the polls.

Democratic candidates Jim Davis of Tampa, Rod Smith of Alachua and Scott Maddox of Tallahassee say the measure is unnecessary.

But Republican candidates Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher support it. Gallagher's campaign released a statement Friday charging that "Democrats, left-wing special interest groups and activist judges around the country are threatening to undermine the sanctity of marriage in Florida."

Stephens predicted his group will have no trouble passing the measure. But Smith said Equality Florida hopes a changing society will reject it.

"The more this conversation goes on and on, the more people get past the stereotypes and deal with real people and what is denied gay partners and their children," Smith said.

Under the state Constitution, citizens can propose a constitutional amendment by collecting signatures from 611,009 registered state voters. The state Supreme Court determines if a measure is clearly written and sticks to one subject.

Besides the Christian Coalition, florida4marriage.org also has ties to Florida Family Action, a nonprofit Orlando group. The Orlando group and florida4marriage.org are led by John Stemberger.

Stemberger gained visibility last year during the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. A supporter of Mel Martinez, Stemberger was at the center of a mailing that attacked Martinez's chief rival, Bill McCollum. Stemberger condemned McCollum's record as a congressman of supporting hate crime legislation.

After winning, Martinez said he regretted the attacks on McCollum, who opposes gay marriage.

Joni James can be reached at jjames@sptimes.com

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.

[Last modified August 20, 2005, 01:44:39]