Does the Amendment Affect you?

"this amendment hurts everyone who
believes in equal civil rights for ALL"

The anti-family, anti-equality Florida Marriage "Protection" Amendment, if passed by voters, would affect the future of each and every tax-paying gay and lesbian person and their families across Florida, whether they support gay marriage or not. Unfortunately, many people really don't understand the full ramifications and damage this proposed amendment is capable of creating.

"it's about equal civil rights for all families"

Not everyone in the community embraces the idea that gays and lesbians should have the legal right to marry. That's okay. We all don't have to agree on this issue. But then, this isn't really about marriage and it never has been. This is about every person having the same equal rights and responsibilities for all Americans.

"federal and state laws already 'protect' marriage
as between a man and a woman"

The Florida Defense of Marriage Act, the Federal Defense of Marriage Act AND the Florida Statutes already provide the "protection" that this citizen petition is advocating.

DOMA

741.212 Marriages between persons of the same sex.--

(1) Marriages between persons of the same sex entered into in any jurisdiction, whether within or outside the State of Florida, the United States, or any other jurisdiction, either domestic or foreign, or any other place or location, or relationships between persons of the same sex which are treated as marriages in any jurisdiction, whether within or outside the State of Florida, the United States, or any other jurisdiction, either domestic or foreign, or any other place or location, are not recognized for any purpose in this state.

(2) The state, its agencies, and its political subdivisions may not give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any state, territory, possession, or tribe of the United States or of any other jurisdiction, either domestic or foreign, or any other place or location respecting either a marriage or relationship not recognized under subsection (1) or a claim arising from such a marriage or relationship.

(3) For purposes of interpreting any state statute or rule, the term "marriage" means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the term "spouse" applies only to a member of such a union. History.--s. 1, ch. 97-268.

State Statutes - "Since at least 1829, marriage in Florida has been defined as the union of one man and one woman. See Fla. Stat. § 741.04." INITIAL BRIEF OF FLORIDA4MARRIAGE.ORG Case No.
SC05-1563 PAGE 1

". . .denied more than 1,000 civil rights"

There are over 1,138 federal rights, responsibilities and privileges that come with civil marriage, as well as additional rights per individual state. These are rights, privileges and responsibilities that tax-paying gay and lesbian couples aren't allowed equal access to. Most people, regardless of sexual orientation, don't even know what all those rights are. These include the ability to make medical decisions, family medical leave, custody of children, rights of inheritance, taxation, survivors' rights, and many more. In 1996 and then again in 2003 the General Accounting Office compiled a report of of more than 1,138 Federal Rights.

View just some of the civil rights granted with civil marriage.

View the Original GAO Report

View the 2003 Follow Up Report

"All were welcome and equal
at Jesus' table"

The vast majority of those who are actively seeking to give gay and lesbian tax-paying Americans second-class citizenship call themselves Christians. A Christian, by definition, is someone who believes in and follows the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. All were welcome and treated equally and justly at Jesus' table. Amending a state or country's constitution to create a separate class of citizen is certainly not something Jesus would do. Those who are attempting to do so while invoking the name of Christ are taking the Lord's name in vain. They also bear false witness when they speak disparagingly and ignorantly about the lives of loving and nurturing gay and lesbian parents and their children. We are not what they say we are.

"this is an equal rights issue..."

This is not a partisan (Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, etc.) issue - this is an equal rights issue. There are those who are doing what they can to make this a partisan issue, but that is not what this is. As an example, of the 30,000-plus people who signed the Florida Marriage "Protection" Amendment petition in Duval County, over 11,000 were Democrats. This issue cuts across political party lines.

"children have rights too..."

If this amendment were to pass, it would forever bar loving and committed gay and lesbian couples from enjoying full civil marriage rights; demeaning and dehumanizing their relationships and their families, regardless of the length of their relationship. Furthermore, this amendment would subject the thousands of children of gay and lesbian parents across Florida to a future of legal uncertainty.

Many of those who would give tax-paying LGBT folk second-class status invoke the Bible as their justification. These people need to be kindly reminded that to be legally married in this state you don't need a church, but you absolutely must have a civil marriage license issued by the state.

Regardless of the number of years a gay or lesbian couple spends together, and regardless of how many children they may have raised, without equal access to civil marriage they are considered legal strangers in their own homes.