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'Gay Marriage' Amendment Misleading

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 7, 2008

Proponents of Amendment 2 are deliberately misleading the public by calling it the "gay marriage" or "same-sex" marriage amendment.

Here's the amendment Floridians will vote on Nov. 4: "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."

Amendment 2's explicit ban on "the substantial equivalent" of marriage also includes both civil unions and domestic partnerships. It threatens the continuation of health insurance and other benefits provided by employers to many couples, straight or gay, young or old.

In Michigan, which passed a similar constitutional amendment, the courts just decided that if you're not legally married, you can't be on your partner's medical plan, have visiting rights at hospitals or receive pension benefits.

As Bentley Lipscomb, former president of the Florida AARP, said, "The way they drafted this amendment will cause problems and create obstacles for some Florida seniors ... Unmarried older couples would not be able to enjoy the same ability to take care of each other. Even visiting their loved one in the hospital when they are sick would be problematic. Then, there's the whole legal issue around making decisions about the end of life."

Barbara DeVane, secretary for the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, says, "This amendment threatens to strip away essential health and family protections unmarried seniors count on to take care of themselves and their loved ones."

Voters should vote on Amendment 2 based on truth, not deceptive propaganda.

MIKE PHENEGER

Tampa

The writer is chair of the Greater Tampa chapter of ACLU of Florida.

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