LEESBURG (FBC)-Unanimously affirming that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only-God-ordained building block of the family and bedrock of civil society,” the State Board of Missions began developing a strategy to pass a constitutional amendment that defines marriage on the Nov. 2006 Florida State ballot.

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In action taken at the Jan. 28 meeting at Lake Yale Conference Center, the Board unanimously voted to “wholeheartedly endorse and strongly support the continued efforts to develop such a proposed constitutional amendment.”

The ballot initiative, which will be known as the “Marriage Preservation Amendment,” was developed in cooperation with a Tallahassee-based ad hoc group that included the Christian Coalition, the Liberty Counsel, the Florida branch of Focus on the Family as well as several state legislators, said Bill Bunkley, Florida Baptists’ legislative consultant.

“We are calling it the Florida Marriage Preservation Amendment,” said Bunkley. “We are trying to preserve marriage. We are trying to preserve our bedrock.”

Participating in the ad hoc group was Jay Dennis, pastor, First Baptist Church at the Mall, Lakeland, who originally presented a motion proposing the amendment during the 2004 Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting in Jacksonville Nov. 8-9. Messengers unanimously approved the motion.

The board learned that after approval by the convention messengers, staff administration of the Florida Baptist Convention requested Bunkley to serve as a liaison with the Tallahassee group to work the language of the constitutional amendments and develop an action plan. The group plans to launch the effort during a Feb. 14 press conference in Orlando.

If approved, the amendment will prohibit in Florida the marriage between two persons of the same sex and prohibit recognition of a same-sex “marriage” secured in another state or country.

The first task of the group was to draft the proposed language of the initiative, said Bunkley during a presentation to the Board. “There are some clear guidelines that must be followed.”

After the press conference, the first goal of the group is to collect 80,000 signatures of Florida voters of all denominations supporting the amendment to send to the Florida Supreme Court for review and approval by April.

After it is approved by the Court, one million valid voter signatures will be required to place the amendment on the Florida general election ballot.

The board instructed the Convention staff to develop a campaign to educate and create awareness among Florida Baptists to encourage their active participation in securing valid voter signatures to qualify for review by the Florida Supreme Court, for inclusion on the general election ballot and to vote on the amendment when it is included on the general election ballot.

Eleven states approved a similar measure in the Nov. 2004 election.