Gay couples
challenge Florida's antigay voter initiative

Six same-sex couples in Florida on Tuesday filed a challenge before the Florida supreme court, charging that an antigay voter initiative violates the state's constitution. The measure--proposed for the 2006 ballot--would leave tens of thousands of families legally vulnerable, say gay rights groups. It not only blocks recognition of marriage, it permanently blocks civil union protections and threatens existing domestic-partnership protections across the state. "After building a life together for over 42 years, it's inconceivable to me that some people in our state would want to amend our constitution in a way that threatens all protections for the families of same-sex couples," said Richard Rogers of Fort Lauderdale, who appeared with his partner, Bill Mullins, at a press conference in Tampa. "Bill and I were the first couple in line to register as domestic partners in Broward County and thought we had put an end to the days when we had to worry about whether we would be able to visit each other in the hospital or make emergency medical decisions for each other. But if this amendment were to pass, we'd have to face those worries all over again as senior citizens. That's not something anyone should have to go through." The challenge came about through the Fairness for All Families Campaign, which has formed to oppose efforts to ban legal protections for same-sex couples and their families. "Fairness for All Families is committed to fighting on all fronts--the courts and the voting booth--to ensure that the Florida constitution is not amended to forever treat same-sex couples as legal strangers," said Nadine Smith, chairwoman of the campaign. "We believe that when Florida voters understand the real harm that failing to protect our families inflicts, they will reject this kind of injustice and support fairness and equality under the law." The brief, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Equality Florida, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, argues that it is unconstitutional to put the initiative to a vote because it violates the single-subject rule of the Florida constitution. The initiative forces voters to decide both whether they want to bar same-sex couples from marriage and whether they want to bar same-sex couples from other types of legal recognition for their relationships. While recent polls from the St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald and the Tampa Tribune/WFLA indicate that the majority of Floridians are opposed to marriage for same-sex couples, the majority also favors civil unions or other legal protection for same-sex pairs. Allowing the proposed initiative to go forward would put voters in the unfair position of making a choice about two separate issues on which there is clearly a large disagreement among the voters. That, the Florida constitution says, is unconstitutional. (Advocate.com)