Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle Talks About Democrats Against Gay Marriage

Florida's ballot measure to make it more difficult for judges to overturn the state's standing marriage ban has plenty of Republican supporters, but some prominent Democrats have declared themselves supporters of the measure. Fort Lauderdale mayor Jim Naugle is leading the pack of Democrats who support amending the state constitution to prohibit gay and lesbian couples from marrying, TheMiami Herald reported Wednesday.

"Democrats, Republicans, or independents -- marriage is a religious institution, and government should define it to be between a man and a woman," Naugle told The Advocate, which he mistook for a legal publication when he returned the magazine's call for comment on his opposition to marriage equality.

Naugle held a press conference Tuesday with a group of Democrats, including pastors and local activists, who agree with social conservatives leading the charge for Amendment 2. He mentioned that key blocs in the Democratic Party, such as Latinos, African-Americans, and Catholics, are showing support for the amendment.

"We also know that a majority of black Democrats are supporting this -- like 60% -- based on religious reasons," he said. He also said Latinos, many of whom in the state are Catholic, will be an important group of voters to pass the amendment.

Yes2Marriage, an organization supporting the amendment, is targeting various groups in Florida -- including Democrats, African-Americans, Latinos, young voters, and senior citizens -- that may boost the yes vote to the required 60% to pass the measure.

"Our internal polling indicates that Democrats strongly support keeping marriage defined between a man and a woman," Yes2Marriage's John Stemberger said in a press release. "This is an issue that many Democratic families understand, and we believe they will support Amendment 2."

The Fort Lauderdale city commission, which Naugle heads as mayor, failed to pass a resolution opposing the amendment on Tuesday, according to the South FloridaSun-Sentinel. Vice Mayor Charlotte Rodstrom reportedly asked for a resolution from the commission, but none of the commissioners would offer the motion for a vote.

The amendment proposes to ensure that marriage maintains a legal union between a man and a woman, providing that "no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized." The opposition to the amendment says it would further limit arrangements like registered domestic partnerships, but Naugle says that won't happen.

"In Broward County we have a domestic-partnership ordinance, so [gay couples] can have many of the rights that straight couples have," he said. "No one's going to lose any benefits; seniors aren't going to be hurt. It just simply defines marriage between one man and one woman."

While some municipalities in Florida offer domestic partnerships, Florida does not offer a statewide registry.

In the past year Naugle has become a sharp critic of LGBT people. In 2007 he supported a $250,000 single-occupancy toilet, which he claimed would reduce gay sex in public restrooms. He also opposed moving the Stonewall Library into a city building. (Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)