ORLANDO (FBW)—After a four-year effort and overcoming numerous obstacles, supporters of traditional marriage were able to convince 62 percent of Floridians to amend their state constitution with a measure upholding the traditional definition of marriage.

Florida elected pro-gay rights presidential candidate Barack Obama, helping him win the White House, even while resoundingly rejecting “gay marriage” by adopting the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment with a 62 percent super majority. In these two developments we have both the danger and promise of the future for those of us concerned about biblical morality in public policy.

Florida Baptists can be thankful that Amendment 2, the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, has passed.

ORLANDO (FBW) – After a four-year effort and overcoming numerous obstacles, supporters of traditional marriage were able to convince 62 percent of Floridians to amend their state constitution with a measure upholding the traditional definition of marriage.

TALLAHASSEE (FBW) – The Florida Marriage Protection Amendment appears to have been adopted, according to the state Division of Elections Web site. The amendment puts in the state constitution the traditional definition of marriage, taking the matter out of the hands of the judiciary.

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)—Massachusetts parents Robb and Robin Wirthlin don’t want parents in Florida to have the same experience as they did when their seven-year-old son was taught from a book advocating “gay marriage” in his second grade public school classroom in the wake of that state’s legalization of same-sex marriages.

How you vote on Amendment 2, the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, may very well impact whether the Christian Gospel can be preached unfettered in Florida in the future. What does “gay marriage” have to do with the Gospel? A great deal—and that’s no exaggeration.

The opponents of Amendment 2 in Florida want to talk about anything and everything except what the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment is all about. They want to talk about hospital visitation, benefits, domestic violence, social security, tough economic times, health care, Michigan, domestic partnerships, more benefits, putting government into your private life, alleged campaign violations and any other number of contrived focus group tested themes. But they absolutely refuse to discuss the driving force behind why 27 states amended their state constitutions by overwhelming majorities – to protect the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In fact, I can’t find a homosexual activist anywhere in this state that will debate the policy question of whether same sex marriage is a good idea for Florida’s children and families.

Editor’s note: This article is reprinted with permission from the Weblog of R. Albert Mohler Jr. , president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Dr. Mohler’s comments about California’s marriage amendment, Proposition 8, are applicable to Florida’s marriage amendment, Amendment 2.

Writing more than twenty years ago, Thomas Sowell described the basic worldview clash we observe today as a struggle between “constrained” and “unconstrained” visions of humanity. The fundamental distinction between these two visions is moral, but the thrust of each is ideological. The constrained vision may be considered basically conservative, while the unconstrained vision is basically liberal, in modern terms.

Editor’s note: This article is reprinted with permission from the Weblog of R. Albert Mohler Jr. , president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Dr. Mohler’s comments about California’s marriage amendment, Proposition 8, are applicable to Florida’s marriage amendment, Amendment 2.

“We’re talking about really refraining from using things like, husband-wife, boyfriend-girlfriend, those kind of things, and just say ‘partner,’” explains Robin Sinks. She is the health education specialist for the Long Beach Unified School District in California. The point she was making is clear enough. The legalization of same-sex marriage will require a comprehensive change in our language.

TALLAHASSEE (FBW) – Massachusetts parents Robb and Robin Wirthlin don’t want parents in Florida to have the same experience as they did when their seven-year-old son was taught from a book advocating “gay marriage” in his second grade public school classroom in the wake of that state’s legalization of same-sex marriages.

Dear Fellow Pastors,

Make no mistake about it—same-sex marriage has nothing to do with equal rights. Homosexuals already have the same right to marry as everyone else. If a gay man wants to marry a woman or a lesbian wants to marry a man they have every right to do so. The problem with homosexuals is that they don’t want to marry, but to redefine marriage to fit their perversion.

Editor’s note: This article is reprinted with permission from the Weblog of R. Albert Mohler Jr. , president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Dr. Mohler’s comments about California’s marriage amendment, Proposition 8, are applicable to Florida’s marriage amendment, Amendment 2.

Same-sex marriage is, for now, legal in three of fifty states in the United States. Beyond our borders, it is legal in the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, South Africa, Canada and Norway. This represents a very small percentage of the world’s population. Same-sex marriage is, by any measure, the exception rather than the rule. Even when legalized civil unions and domestic partnerships are thrown into the mix, the countries that consider same-sex unions and heterosexual marriages to be equal before the law represent a small percentage of the world’s nations.

Editor’s note: This article is reprinted with permission from the Weblog of R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Dr. Mohler’s comments about California’s marriage amendment, Proposition 8, are applicable to Florida’s marriage amendment, Amendment 2.

Human society is a complex reality, but certain constants have framed that reality for human beings. One of those constants has been the institution of marriage. The respected status of the heterosexual pairing, set apart for exclusive rights and respected for its functions for the society, is among the most important of those constants. Even where deviations from this pattern occur, they are of interest merely for the fact that they are deviations from this norm.

FORT LAUDERDALE (FBW)—The Fort Lauderdale City Commission failed to approve a resolution condemning the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment when no member of the body was willing to move adoption of the measure in its Oct. 7 meeting. In a city with a strong homosexual presence, not a single citizen spoke in favor of the resolution, while many citizens—led by Baptists—spoke against the measure.

Floridians, when you cast your ballot on the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment this year, look at Massachusetts, California—and now Connecticut.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—Election Day is less than a month away and more pastors in Florida are becoming aware of the effort to pass Amendment 2, the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, which will define marriage between a man and a woman in the Florida Constitution. Evidence of the increased awareness is seen by the participation in recent pastor briefings around the state.

TAMPA (FBW)—Filling the pulpit before a backdrop of about 40 Tampa Bay area pastors, a coalition of African-American pastors Sept. 24 announced their support of a state constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—With only about six weeks left before the November general election and most people focused on the closely fought presidential contest, leaders of the campaign to pass a state constitutional marriage amendment are concerned that not enough pastors are engaging their congregations on the issue.

In this political season, one topic that is sure to be discussed is the role of religion or faith in public life. Predictably, we hear the voices decrying the role of religion in the national debate. We can expect the familiar distortions of the political doctrine of the separation between church and state. Some would suppose that of all the influences that are brought to bear on the human spirit, faith alone is not allowed. But, of course, that is never what the doctrine of separation of church and state historically meant. Most Baptists know the line was originally lifted from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to a group of Baptists in Connecticut assuring them of the right to religious liberty and the inability of the American government, given our system of governance, to dominate or discriminate against any one singular church on religious grounds.

The Florida Baptist Convention has been a prime mover in getting the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, Constitutional Amendment 2, on the general election ballot for Nov. 4.

Floridians settling down in front of their televisions last week to take in the Democratic National Convention were treated to more than just speeches extolling the virtues of presidential nominee Barack Obama. If they didn’t make a run to the refrigerator during the breaks, viewers were exposed to what promises to be just the beginning of a non-stop onslaught of television commercials lying about the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment.

ORLANDO (FBW)—The pastor of one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in Florida has been named to lead a new effort to rally pastors to pass the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment in November.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—Pastors in California are inviting their ministerial colleagues in Florida and Arizona to join them for a special three-state conference call on July 30 to discuss efforts to pass state constitutional amendments to protect marriage.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—Pastors in California are inviting their ministerial colleagues in Florida and Arizona to join them for a special three-state conference call on July 30 to discuss efforts to pass state constitutional amendments to protect marriage.

MIAMI (FBW) – A “kick-off” meeting to launch efforts in Miami-Dade County to pass the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment on the November general election ballot will be held July 17 in Miami, leaders announced July 14.

ORLANDO (FBW)—A “dishonest and factually incorrect” mailing by opponents of the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment was decried today by John Stemberger, chairman of “Yes On 2,” the committee sponsoring the amendment.

In a predictable although troubling 4-3 decision, the California Supreme Court decreed on May 15 “gay marriage” is a “fundamental constitutional right,” overturning two state laws—one of which was affirmed by 61 percent of Californians in 2000.

ORLANDO (FBW) – A “dishonest and factually incorrect” mailing by opponents of the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment was decried today by John Stemberger, chairman of “Yes On 2,” the committee sponsoring the amendment.

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)—Leaders of a coalition advocating a constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage announced April 17 a new name for the effort—”Yes on 2″—at 10 news conferences across Florida.

TALLAHASSEE (FBW) – Leaders of a coalition advocating a constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage announced April 17 a new name for the effort – “Yes2Marriage” – at 10 news conferences across Florida.

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)—A constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage will be on the November ballot because supporters gathered 92,000 extra petitions in about two weeks after learning a computer glitch had dropped the previous tally below the 611,009 petition requirement.

TALLAHASSEE (FBW) – A constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage will be on the November ballot because supporters gathered 92,000 extra petitions in about two weeks after learning a computer glitch had dropped the previous tally below the 611,009 petition requirement.

A multi-year effort to allow Florida voters the opportunity to protect marriage is in serious jeopardy of not making the 2008 November ballot unless concerned citizens act immediately and decisively to collect an additional 22,000 petitions before Jan. 29.

UPDATED 4:10 p.m. EST

ORLANDO (FBW)–John Stemberger, state chairman of Florida4Marriage.org, Jan. 14 declared a state of “constitutional emergency” when he learned about 22-30,000 petitions are still needed by Feb. 1 to place the Florida Marriage Amendment on the ballot for 2008.

What would you expect the response to be of a person who signed a petition supporting a citizen initiative protecting traditional marriage in the state constitution when told that the effort has succeeded and Floridians will vote on the proposed amendment in November?

TALLAHASSEE (FBW) – In the wake of the cancellation of the annual Florida Leadership Prayer Breakfast, which was abandoned this year because legislators would be in violation of a new lobbying law since the annual event was in part underwritten by lobbyists, legislators who are part of a weekly prayer group decided to hold their own prayer breakfast.

WEST PALM BEACH (FBW)–Palm Beach County Commissioners voted unanimously Jan. 10 to create a county-wide registry of domestic partners. Unmarried couples, including homosexual partners, may sign up to receive “visitation rights and decision-making abilities,” according to the Palm Beach Post.

ORLANDO (FBW) – With only two weeks until the Feb. 1 deadline for petitions seeking to put a constitutional amendment to protect marriage on the November ballot, more than 300 pastors from various evangelical denominations gathered Jan. 16-17 for a last-ditch rally organizers hope will propel the amendment effort beyond the necessary 611,000 petitions to allow voters to ban “gay marriage” in Florida this fall.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (BP)–Barring an incredible effort by Florida churches in the final days of January, a signature drive for a constitutional marriage amendment there appears likely to fail.

ORLANDO (FBW)–Passing out petitions aimed at getting a voter initiative on the ballot or hosting a voter registration drive at church is not only legal, but is a natural result of a church which teaches “basic, biblical moral issues,” a legal expert says.

James Dobson has a stark warning about “gay marriage” for Christians in America: “This is the climactic moment in the battle to preserve the family, and future generations hang in the balance.”

TALLAHASSEE (BP)–Conservatives in Florida are gathering signatures with the goal of placing a state constitutional marriage amendment on the ballot in 2006. Their deadline (late January) is fast approaching. Following are a list of some commonly asked questions, with answers.

LAKELAND (FBW)–”My hope is that we don’t look in our rear view mirror and say, ‘We should have done that,’” said Lakeland pastor Jay Dennis of the approaching deadline for petitions to get the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment before the state’s voters. Florida Baptists, along with thousands of other Christians in Florida, have been given a deadline of Jan. 23 to have petitions mailed in to a collection center at First Baptist Church in Orlando.

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)–The declining esteem with which people hold marriage is detrimental to society, and it is the responsibility of the church to address the issue, Union University faculty members said in sessions held at First Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn.

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)–Backers of the proposed Florida Marriage Protection Amendment held simultaneous news conferences at nine locations across the state Jan. 6 to announce the endorsement of the state constitutional amendment by hundreds of religious, political and business leaders and to announce an “ultimate mailing deadline” of Jan. 23 to receive petitions.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)–The images flashed on the screen are startling: Two men jubilantly kiss each other; a robed minister signs a marriage license for a male couple; a beaming man drapes his arm amorously around another man’s shoulder; two women hug at the obvious conclusion of their nuptials. And on each, the caption reads: “Gay marriage became legal in Boston May, 2004.”

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)–Backers of the proposed Florida Marriage Protection Amendment held simultaneous news conferences at nine locations across the state Jan. 6 to announce the endorsement of the state constitutional amendment by hundreds of religious, political and business leaders and to announce an “ultimate mailing deadline” of Jan. 23 to receive petitions.

The Florida Marriage Protection Amendment signing ceremony during the Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting in Ocala was important symbolically. But symbols alone will not get the job done.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)–A year after messengers attending the Florida Baptist State Convention called for a state constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage, a coalition created to gain its passage is urging churches and individuals to become more aggressive in securing signed petitions.

OCALA (FBC) — Seeking to galvanize the 1,550 messengers in attendance to action, leaders of the Florida Baptist State Convention publicly signed the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment during its 144th annual meeting Nov. 14-15 in Ocala.

NAPLES (FBW)–Florida Baptist State Convention president Hayes Wicker believes “the time is short before Jesus returns” and is praying for a “great awakening” in “perilous times” marked by “hurricanes, Islamic extremism, liberal ideologies and rampant immorality.”

The next three months may very well determine whether or not Floridians will have the opportunity to vote to protect marriage in the state constitution during next year’s election. My question to Florida Baptists is simple: what are you prepared to do to make sure we can vote on this critical issue in 2006?

TALLAHASSEE (BP)–The American Civil Liberties Union joined other liberal interest groups Sept. 21 in filing a lawsuit against a proposed constitutional marriage amendment in Florida, seeking to prevent it from appearing on the ballot in 2006.

ORLANDO (FBW) – Leaders of a coalition supporting a state constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage announced at three simultaneous news conferences Aug. 19 the effort has virtually reached an important “milestone” and called on Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood, Attorney General Charlie Crist and the state Supreme Court to “expedite” their review of the proposed amendment.

ORLANDO (FBW) – Leaders of a coalition supporting a state constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage announced at three simultaneous news conferences Aug. 19 the effort has virtually reached an important “milestone” and called on Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood, Attorney General Charlie Crist and the state Supreme Court to “expedite” their review of the proposed amendment.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)-The Florida Coalition to Protect Marriage is sponsoring a marriage amendment workshop June 9 in Jacksonville.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—Orlando attorney John Stemberger, president and general counsel of Florida Family Action will be the featured speaker at workshops throughout Florida in April and May on strategies and arguments for promoting a Florida amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman.

ORLANDO (BP) — All but one of the lawsuits challenging Florida’s ban on "gay marriage" have been withdrawn by homosexual activists, the pro-family legal group Liberty Counsel said April 7. The group announced that seven of the eight lawsuits that had been filed had been withdrawn in recent weeks.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—An effort to encourage registered voters to go on record supporting a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage exclusively as the “legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife” is being mounted by Florida Baptist congregations.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—In Jacksonville Nov. 9, Jay Dennis, pastor of First Baptist Church at the Mall in Lakeland, stood at a microphone and made a motion before the Florida Baptist State Convention in support of a statewide constitutional marriage amendment. Every Sunday since that day, members of homosexual organizations have picketed his church.

Last November at the annual meeting of the Florida Baptist State Convention, Florida Baptists enthusiastically endorsed a call for a state constitutional amendment to protect marriage.

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.”

Editor’s note: This story will be updated later today, Monday, Feb. 14.

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.”

TAMPA (BP)—Florida attorney Ellis Rubin said Jan. 25 that he is dropping his legal challenges to the Federal Defense of Marriage Act, fearful that a loss on the appeals court level or at the Supreme Court would set a legal precedent he wants to avoid.

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.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP/FBW)—In the wake of severe Election Day setbacks, a coalition of more than 20 homosexual and liberal organizations released a joint statement Jan. 13 outlining their goals for the future and re-stating their commitment to fight for legalized same-sex “marriage” nationwide.

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—Voting unanimously to support a statewide constitutional marriage amendment, messengers to the Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting Nov. 9 urged legislators and citizens to press the issue defining marriage as a “God-ordained union between a man and a woman.”

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)- Voting unanimously to support a statewide constitutional marriage amendment, messengers to the Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting Nov. 9 urged legislators and citizens to press the issue defining marriage as a "God-ordained union between a man and a woman."

JACKSONVILLE (FBW)-Messengers to the Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting in Jacksonville Nov. 8-9 will consider a resolution urging the State Legislature to adopt a ban on “same-sex marriage,” according to State Convention President Tommy Green, who will conclude his presidency this year.

Jay Dennis really knows how to stir things up! His motion urging Florida Baptists to “lead the way” on biblical marriage is precisely what we did last week in Jacksonville.

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)-The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and several Planned Parenthood associations filed suit in Leon County Aug. 2 to remove the “parental notification” amendment from Florida’s November ballot. The proposed state constitutional amendment would make it impossible for a woman under 18 to obtain an abortion without parental consent.

Why We Can’t Stay Silent

A few weeks ago, the Federal Marriage Amendment, an amendment that would have defined marriage in America as the union between one man and one woman, did not pass. Granted, for some senators, it was a political hot potato in an election year. The safe response was to leave it alone.

The old saying was never truer: “It’s time to put up or shut up.”