Mayor of WPB Comes Out Against Amendment 2

The mayor and city commission of West Palm Beach unanimously voted this afternoon to oppose Amendment 2, the so-called “Florida Marriage Protection Amendment.”

If Amendment 2 is adopted by the voters on November 4, the Florida Constitution would be amended to provide that, “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.”

“What is meant by the ’substantial equivalent’ of marriage?” asked  Commissioner Jeri Muoio, who introduced the resolution at the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, “Florida already has four state laws defining marriage. This amendment is designed to go beyond marriage.”

“West Palm Beach was the first city in Florida to provide domestic partner benefits for families of city employees.  This policy has served our City well, without controversy or detriment,” said Mayor Lois Frankel.  “The passage of  Amendment 2 would be a step backwards in the the advancement of the health and security of Florida’s citizens.”

“It is not just public employees who will be hurt if Amendment 2 is not defeated,” said Palm Beach County Human Rights Council President Rand Hoch.  “Amendment 2 may needlessly places our seniors at risk as well.”

The Council, which has been in the forefront of domestic partnership issues for the past twenty years, successfully lobbied both the City of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County to pass laws providing basic safeguards for domestic partners by establishing domestic partner registries.

The domestic partnership laws enacted by the City of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County in 2005 have provided safeguards for nonmarried couples and their families, according to Hoch.

“Couples who have registered their domestic partnerships are treated in the same manner as spouses when it comes to hospital visitation and health care decisions,” said Muoio.  “It would be wrong to take away these safeguards.”

“Amendment 2 could damage thousands of Florida families by eliminating the protection provided by domestic partnership laws,” said Hoch.  “There is no need to needlessly place so many families at risk.”

Other Florida jurisdictions which have set up domestic partner registries include Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Gainesville, Key West and Miami Beach.

Statewide organizations urging Floridians to defeat Amendment 2 include the Florida League of Women Voters, the NAACP, the Professional Fire Fighters of Florida and the Florida Education Association.

Editorials urging readers to vote “no” on Amendment 2 have appeared in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Florida Today, the Florida Times-Union, the Northwest Florida Daily News, the Orlando Sentinel, the Palm Beach Post, the St. Petersburg Times, the Southwest Florida News Press, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Tallahassee Democrat.

None of Florida’s daily newspapers has come out in support of Amendment 2.

Under Florida law, 60% of the vote is required to amend the state constitutional. With less than seven weeks to go before election day,  the state’s major public opinion polls all show that support for Amendment 2 remains below 60%.

“There still is a lot of work to be done between now and November 4 to educate votes,” said Hoch.  “We must let our families, friends and neighbors know that there should be no room in the Florida Constitution for discrimination.”

The Lake Worth City Commission will consider a resolution opposing Amendment 2 at today’s meeting.

For more info visit: sayno2.com.