Protect This... Marriage!?

Since the Florida Secretary of State has certified the petitions of the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment and it will appear on the Florida ballot in November, people have been asking me what it's all about. It's a measure that is designed to enshrine within the Florida Consitution hateful discrimination. If passed, there are many other negative unintended consequences that will flow from it.

First, to understand it, you have to look at it as what it is: an election-year wedge issue that is designed to help the Republicans win Florida. If you look at the last Presidential election cycle in 2004, similar ballot initiatives were very successful in turning out socially conservative voters, to the Republicans' benefit. This is why the Florida GOP, under Jeb Bush, spent so much money in helping the backers of the Amendment. (Note, interestingly, that Charlie Crist has distanced himself and the state GOP from the Amendment since becoming his party's standard-bearer in Florida.)

There are two things the backers of this Amendment could not have anticipated happening, both of which will result in defeat (less than 60%) for their Florida Amendment. 1) In 2006, Arizona became the first state in the union to reject a ballot initiative designed to enshrine discrimination into a state constitution, paving the way for Florida to do the same. And 2) the likely nomination of John McCain (of Arizona and obvious agnosticism toward same-sex marriage), which will not excite the base of the GOP in Florida.

The so-called Marriage Protection Amendment might get 50% of the vote in November, but no way that it makes it to 60% plus 1. I knew this tired wedge tactic would be DOA when we last amended our state constitution to require greater than 60% of the vote for such a measure to pass. Even in the privacy of the voting booth, there don't exist that many Floridians who would admit to being so backwards in their thinking.

What's most-horrible about this amendment is that it would do away with domestic partner benefits and even invade private legal contracts made by same-sex couples that provide some of the benefits of marriage (hospital visitation, inheritance, etc). It's a shocking attack on individual liberties, speaking as an attorney.

Also, what few people realize is the detrimental affect it could have on seniors. Many older folks, after losing their spouse, will develop deep emotional bonds with a new special someone. For lots of reasons (mostly related to hurt feelings of their kids), they don't get remarried, but instead form domestic partnerships that take lots of forms. They could be hurt by this horrible, ill-thought amendment as well.

This is one reason why Florida Red & Blue has been formed to defeat the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment. I support their work and I hope you will too.