Amendment 2 is an initiative on Florida's November ballot that if passed would limit the rights of both homosexual and heterosexual couples to form civil unions and domestic partnerships.
Gay marriage is already banned under Florida state law, but the initiative's authors want to go a step further. The initiative states that "no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized." (Emphasis added.)
Amendment 2's supporters say that their intent is only to define marriage and not affect civil unions, but if so, then why include the "substantial equivalent" language in the initiative?
A similar initiative passed in Michigan in 2004, and as a result the state's courts prohibited public employers from recognizing domestic partnerships for the purpose of awarding health benefits. The ruling affected teachers, nurses, professors, fire fighters, policy officers, and government employees.
Pledge to vote no on Amendment 2!
