Conservatives Launch Florida Coalition to Protect Marriage

Entitled the “Florida Coalition to Protect Marriage,” the organization gained the support of groups representing millions of Christian conservatives including the Florida Baptist Association and the Christian Coalition of Florida.

By Pauline J. Chang, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, February 15, 2005

A large coalition of conservative organizations launched a vigorous initiative to amend Florida’s constitution to preserve marriage as one man and one woman, on Monday, Feb. 14, 2005. Entitled the “Florida Coalition to Protect Marriage,” the organization gained the support of groups representing millions of Christian conservatives including the Florida Baptist Association and the Christian Coalition of Florida.

“We know homosexual marriage isn't the only threat to marriage today, but rather one of many,'' said Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, as he addressed the crowd. “However, the imminent threat before us is here, and therefore action is required.''

Chambers, whose organization helped turn hundreds of homosexuals back to the heterosexual lifestyle “through the power of Jesus Christ”, said the new coalition is not hateful or homophobic.

“I was a homosexual, I lived among the gay community. I have many friends still there today. I know the pain of being taunted, I know what it's like to listen to those who are ignorant of the complex issues surrounding homosexual development,'' Chambers said, according to the Sun Sentinel. “I would never lend my name or my organization's name to something that was hateful or homophobic.''

The coalition’s proposed “Florida Marriage Protection Amendment,” states: “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.”

In order to place the amendment before the voters in November 2006, the coalition must collect 611,001 valid signatures by next February. Once the signatures are collected, the Florida Supreme Court will decide whether the amendment’s language meets state requirements to go on the ballot.

Until recently, there were eight same-sex marriage lawsuits pending in Florida. Three of the federal suits were dismissed several weeks earlier, but five cases are pending.

According to the Liberty Counsel, these remaining cases “seek to undermine the Florida’s Defense of Marriage Act”, which was drafted by the Counsel’s president Mat Staver and passed by the legislature in 1997.

The newly introduced marriage Amendment would add Florida to the list of 17 other states that have passed statewide initiatives defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and if passed will amend the state constitution so state and federal judges could not use the state’s constitution to undermine the traditional definition of marriage.

“Marriage is too important to allow one judge somewhere, at some time to undermine the institution that is precious to all Floridians,'' said Staver.

In a separate statement released after the launch, Staver explained that such an amendment must extend further than just within the state.

“Moms and dads are important for children. Same-sex marriage would hurt children and society by establishing a policy that moms and dads are expugnable. We must strengthen marriage and the family,” said Staver. “State marriage amendments are the first step, but we must also amend our federal Constitution so that judges do not use the federal and state constitutions to undermine marriage with the stroke of a pen.”

For more information, visit: Florida4Marriage.org/Florida Coalition to Protect Marriage: http://www.florida4marriage.org/