Marriage amendment initiative launched at Valentine's Day news conference

ORLANDO (FBW) – A broad-based coalition of religious and pro-family organizations – including the Florida Baptist Convention – launched on Valentine’s Day an ambitious citizen initiative to amend Florida’s Constitution defining marriage as “the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife.”

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With a backdrop of married couples of all races and ages – including newlyweds of two weeks – the coalition announced the formation of Florida4Marriage.org at a Feb. 14 news conference in Orlando.

The coalition must collect about 611,000 valid signatures from registered voters by February 2006, but hopes to gather more than 800,000 petitions in order to ensure there are enough legitimate signatures. Before that, however, the coalition needs about 80,000 signatures to send the amendment to the Florida Supreme Court for its required review and approval. Assuming successful evaluation by the Florida high court and enough valid signatures, the amendment will go before Florida voters on the general election ballot in November 2006.

The full text of the proposed constitutional amendment reads: “Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.”

A copy of the petition is available on page two and on the Florida Baptist Witness Web site ( www.floridabaptistwitness.com/marriagepetition.pdf\).

The Florida Baptist State Convention galvanized the effort to affirm traditional marriage last November in Jacksonville when it enthusiastically and unanimously adopted a motion offered by Lakeland pastor Jay Dennis urging Florida Baptists to “lead the way and go on record as supporting a statewide constitutional amendment that defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman and is the God-ordained building block of the family and the bedrock of civil society.”

Dennis, pastor of First Baptist Church at the Mall and FBSC president 2000-2001, called on legislators and citizens of the state “to begin the process of such a constitutional amendment.”

Dennis was out-of-state on a book tour Feb. 14, but offered his strong support for the petition effort in a statement to Florida Baptist Witness.

“First Baptist Church at the Mall will definitely be involved in the petition drive and we will encourage other churches to do the same,” Dennis said.

Orlando attorney John Stemberger, head of Florida Family Action, is chairman of the political action committee formed to pass the constitutional amendment. The petition was formally filed Feb. 9 with the Florida Elections Division.

Among the organizations participating in the news conference were the Florida Baptist Convention, Florida Catholic Conference, Florida Christian Coalition, Liberty Counsel, Florida Family Action, and Exodus International.

Mat Staver, constitutional attorney and author of the Florida Marriage Amendment – and Florida’s 1997 Defense of Marriage Act – said that recent actions of a New York state judge to allow “gay marriage,” as well as five pending Florida lawsuits challenging the state’s DOMA demonstrate the vital need for a state constitutional amendment protecting marriage.

Representing the Florida Baptist Convention at the news conference was the Convention’s legislative consultant, Bill Bunkley, who has participated in the coalition’s strategy sessions leading to the citizen initiative’s launch.

Bunkley told the Witness, “We want to put the fire out before the fire starts,” agreeing that Florida’s DOMA law is vulnerable to attack from “gay marriage” activists and judges.

Since marriage is a critical biblical principle for Christians, Bunkley urged all Florida Baptists to get behind the petition effort, in part, to help Christian families understand the importance of marriage – as well as to energize Christians who have not been involved in such basic citizenship as being registered to vote. Only registered voters may participate in the petition process.

Although not present at the news conference, the Florida Catholic Conference issued a statement Feb. 14: “We applaud efforts of those groups who by amendment to the Florida Constitution are intending to define and protect the institution of marriage in our state.”  Representing more than 2.5 million Catholics in the Sunshine State, the Florida Catholic Conference indicated that the bishops “in the near future” will “decide on appropriate ways the Church will assist this effort.”

In a separate statement, Bishop Victor Galeone of the Diocese of St. Augustine, argued that “the sanctity of marriage is under attack today” and offered support for the “efforts of the Florida Baptist Convention and others to amend the Florida Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.”

At the news conference, African American pastor, attorney and former National Football League player O’Neal Dozier characterized as “shameful and appalling” efforts of the homosexual lobby to link its agenda with that of the civil rights movement.

“The radical homosexual activists are hiding behind the mask of the civil rights movement,” said Dozier, pastor of Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach. “They are hiding a socially destructive agenda.”

Steve Smith, assistant pastor at First Baptist Church of Orlando, was present for the news conference and in comments to the Witness said that the church will likely hold petition drives to promote the amendment.

Smith invited Al and Nancy Williams and their daughter Ashley to participate in the news conference as a means of demonstrating that “conservative Christians have been criticized for having opposed interracial marriage” but “this is not an issue of race; it’s an issue of one man and one woman.”

Members of First Baptist Orlando, the biracial couple wanted to “stand up to say that marriage is between a man and a woman,” Al told Florida Baptist Witness.

“We’re proud to be asked to be a part of this because we know that this is what God designed marriage to be – a man and woman, and a family to have a mother and a father,” Nancy added.

In January, Florida Baptists’ State Board of Missions unanimously approved involvement in the coalition and asked Florida Baptist Convention staff to develop an education and awareness campaign among Florida Baptists to encourage their participation in the initiative effort. An update on Convention plans is expected at the next meeting of the State Board in May.

Gov. Jeb Bush and other state political leaders have expressed skepticism about the need for a constitutional amendment, arguing that the state’s Defense of Marriage Act already provides a safeguard against efforts to advance “gay marriage.”

In response to the FBSC action in November, Bush said, “If there was a threat that gay marriage would be accepted in our state, then I might be supportive of it. I’m not sure it’s necessary to do this in a pre-emptive fashion. I think we’re safe.”

The Associated Press reported Feb. 14 that “gay rights” organizations decried the proposed amendment. “Our constitution guarantees equal protection and dignity under the law for all our citizens,” said Stratton Pollitzer, of Equality Florida. “This amendment would single out one group of people for discrimination. That is wrong – the law should protect everyone equally.”

Last November 11 out of 11 states adopted various versions of constitutional bans on “gay marriage.” According to Staver, altogether, 13 states adopted amendments protecting traditional marriage in 2004, with another four states having adopted amendments before last year. Florida joins about 19 other states currently considering constitutional amendments to protect marriage.