Divorced from reality - Palm Beach Post Editorial

[ellenfl]

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Having helped to make sure that marriage in this state is off-limits to gays and lesbians, the Florida Family Policy Council wants to set marriage standards for everybody else in Florida. If the group has its way, some of those standards would be written into law.

In announcing the effort he calls "Strong Marriages Florida," John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, said that to lower the state's divorce rate by 10 percent "we are launching an initiative to serve the children, families, communities of Florida." To justify making your marriage his business, Mr. Stemberger says, "The breakdown of families in our state brings not only high social costs to children whose lives are often devastated, but there is an enormous economic cost to taxpayers and to businesses."

Mr. Stemberger's group and its allies promoted the gay marriage ban that voters put in Florida's Constitution in November. Success in that campaign, which featured misinformation and religious intolerance, doesn't qualify the Florida Family Policy Council to be the state's marriage counselor.

This newspaper for years has noted the link between unprepared parents and troubled children. We have no quarrel with a church, religion or other private group that wants to set requirements for marriage or establish programs to strengthen marriage. The problem comes when that church, religion or group believes that its standards, beliefs or practices should be written into law.

Palm Beach Post

we need to make sure that any such amendment is soundly defeated. we failed with the gay marriage amendment. i thought republicans were for personal responsibility and for government staying out of our lives?

ellen fl

[tosh]

1. "i thought republicans were for personal responsibility and for government staying out of our lives"

...faulty logic, inherent in republican brain matter.

LOL, don't let me get started on that.

[Malikshah]

2. As a gay man in Florida, I say bring it on. Pass it. Let folks feel the sting and pain of having

their lives controlled, their destinies decided for them.

I'm serious about this. I say ban divorce in the US. Now.

Then folks may wake up from their selfish stupor.

Until then-- let em do it.