Florida gay marriage ban makes ballot

[Mika]

http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/402907.html

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A citizen initiative to ban gay marriage will be on the November ballot, the only one of more than 50 active petition drives that qualified Friday at the deadline for signature verification.

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Sponsors of the single-gender marriage ban announced in December said they had obtained enough verified signatures. State officials then lowered the count by more than 20,000 signatures due to a glitch in the Division of Elections' electronic reporting system. Some signatures had been counted twice.

Florida4Marriage.org had to restart its all-volunteer petition campaign and collected 92,000 signatures in just 13 days, said the group's leader, Orlando lawyer John Stemberger.

"We contacted every national group that we knew about, we contacted every church leadership that we knew about," Stemberger said. "It was a blessing to the group because it better organized us. We're so very, very much ahead of where we would have been."

The proposal's backers are facing a well-organized opposition campaign called Florida Red and Blue. The group's chairman, Jon Kislak, said he expected the proposal to get on the ballot.

"We are already busy collecting the resources and building the campaign it will take to defeat this dangerous amendment," Kislak said. "We remain confident that voters will reject this amendment once they learn it can take away existing rights and benefits from millions of Floridians."

The opponents claim it would affect the rights of all unmarried couples regardless of gender.

Each proposed state constitutional amendment required 611,009 signatures. That's 8 percent of Florida voters who cast ballots in the last presidential election. The 8 percent criteria also had to be met in at least 13 of Florida's 25 congressional districts.

The same-sex marriage ban was certified with 649,346 signatures - 38,337 more than the minimum. Hometown Democracy, which was opposed by developers, businesses and many local officials, failed by 65,182 signatures.

Florida Red and Blue
http://www.floridaredandblue.com/

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[Divine Discontent]

1. I despise people who have nothing better to do with their lives than to concentrate major parts of

their lives discussing angrily about men, and to a lesser extent - women (because of the 'every man's fantasy' crowd), having sex with one another...

cuz really, that's what this is all about... homophobia about 2 men or women being in love and being restricted from being married, and it's primarily from the 'church' and 'red neck' parts of town.


What a sick state we live in - gay men & women are not permitted to adopt here, and now they're throwing this pathetic offering to the populace to vote upon. I think it will (hopefully) surprisingly be defeated narrowly.

I sorta have written off FL for Obama, but you never know, ol McPain may do so poorly in debates and get angry that he'll lose in a landslide nationally.

[Anexio]

2. Sick

It makes me ill to think of people that love one another cannot be with one another.

Sure we have have iPods and hybrid cars, but so what? If one person loves another person who the hell should care what sex they are?

[appletasty]

3. Agree

100%.

[Anexio]

4. Home of the free

Land of the free, as long as Joel Osteen says you can.

Home of the brave, but don't be so brave that you disagree with the religious right.

God shed his grace on thee, but you better be one man and one woman or else you're going straight to hell you sick bastard.

[YDogg]

5. It'll pass.

Sadly.

[Maraya1969]

6. Does this site have the list of names and addresses? I had a site

and found some people very close to me who signed. I wanted to put a little note in their mailbox but haven't yet.

If anyone wants to look for if I would very much appreciate it. My eyes are at 1/2 staff right now and I'm about to hit the bed.

It might be good if someone could design a pamphlet or flier to put on their door. I would do it.

[bluevoter4life]

7. Does anyone other than me find it fishy....

That the amendment was something like 50,000 signatures short the week before the deadline and suddenly they are 32,000 signatures over? I think some people have been double dipping into the pot. But of course, with our backing by the ass-backwards religious right, no one will do anything to stand up and investigate the signatures.

I am so fucking sick of the right wing-nuts who have to destroy the very idea of anything remotely resembling progressivism. These nutjobs need to stop being so goddamn hypocritical. If the baby they save from abortion turns out to be gay, will they still protect its rights?

[nickpecoraro]

8. Marry whoever you want

The Commonwealth of Mass....., has allowed same sex marriage without any bad consequences.
Florida should allow same sex marriage.
Same sexes can visit for a vacation, marry, spend money, maybe decide to buy a home here.
It will be good for our economy.

Why should anyone care who adults want to marry and have sex with?

The Christians need to stop trying to legislate their values. Jesus hung around with 12 guys and never got married. The Apostle Paul never got married either and he traveled around with other guys. Does this seem strange when the Bible says to be fruitful and multiply?

Nick Pecoraro