I cut and pasted this from www.SayNo2.com. They said it better than I can. I'm sorry to say Ammendment 2 passed. Welcome to the Age of Repression. I wouldn't be surprised if another Burning Times is around the corner.
"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."
Consequences: Similar amendments in other states are being used to take away benefits from public employees (Kentucky, for instance), and dissolve domestic partnership registries used to provide health care benefits and pensions (in Michigan).Broward and Palm Beach Counties and the cities of Tampa, Gainesville and Miami Beach, among others, offer Domestic Partnership Registries. Most Florida universities and more than half of Fortune 500 companies offer Domestic Partnership benefits. These benefits would be placed at risk, if not outright abolished, if this amendment passes.Every unmarried Floridian will be impacted by this amendment - especially divorced or widowed seniors and public employees who, under existing programs, can share some benefits such as hospital visitation privileges and health care coverage without being married.
Hurting Seniors Amendment 2 could force seniors to choose between important benefits like sharing health care and important government benefits.
"Gay Marriage" Bait & Switch Amendment 2 claims to ban "gay marriage" but Florida already has multiple laws banning same-sex marriage.
Massive Government Intrusion Amendment 2 puts the government where it doesn't belong - regulating the personal relationships of Floridians. Hey, Governor! Keep your laws off my body and your nose out of my bedroom!
Hiring Expensive Lawyers Amendment 2 could force unmarried Floridians to hire expensive private lawyers just to protect their basic legal rights. Here I think is the real crux of why this legislation even made it to the ballots. The lawyers can now charge outrageous fees as unmarried domestic partners must come to them in hopes of protecting communal property and giving each other the hope of having the one they live with and who knows them best some rights.
Dramatic Consequences Amendment 2 could take away job benefits from university employees and be used as a defense to domestic violence - as in other states which passed similar amendments. Why am I not surprised?
5 comments:
"Here I think is the real crux of why this legislation even made it to the ballots. The lawyers can now charge outrageous fees as unmarried domestic partners must come to them in hopes of protecting communal property"
Sweetie, that really isn't what lawyers do. The ones that have developed the planning techniques saw a niche they wanted to help. Most lawyers specializing in such planning are gay rights activists who donate a lot of time to trying to get rid of such laws (knowing they can always go back to regular wealth management planning).
Not that there aren't scummy lawyers, but they usually work in a lobbying capacity for the religious conservatives in getting these things on the ballot, or for the HMOs who want to be able to deny domestic partners, etc.
However, politicians are --by and large-- lawyers. I can see the scum and the religious right getting deep into each others pockets.
You're probably right, though. The HMO/insurance industry also needs to take a share of blame for this.
I know several lawyers (not financial planners) who are advertising that the only way to ensure your domestic partner gets a say in the distribution of your stuff is to form a legal entity like a corporation between the partners and have all the communal property owned by the legal entity. Some folks are doing it. Does it work? I have no idea. I just find the whole Puritan concept of someone caring what someone else does with another consenting adult in their bedroom to be horrifying and ludicrous.
Puritan mindset: The irrational fear that someone, somewhere, might be having a good time and God has ordained it's your right to stop them until they're as miserable and repressed as you are.
I'm so frustrated that this passed. More importantly, at my work, there are already issues dealing with the insurance of one domestic partnership because both Florida and my company(think big name telephone company) have screwed this person out of money and more. Now, this-- this will force even harder decisions.
With seniors forced to choose already whether or not pay bills or pay for medicine, now they'll have to deal with whether or not to be together or keep separate as now even living as common law is threatened. That's right, when you look at the common law marriage rights, this amendment just flushed that down the toilet. That means all those people who've been avoiding marrying for whatever reasoning-- you're going to be forced to get your own insurance and more.
As for my gay friends- I'm livid for them. How dare ANYONE think that laws of the land can dictate the rights of marriages. George Washington stated in a treaty with Tripoli, Liberia--
"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."
Which means-- the idea of a marriage being only between a man and woman has no dictate within the US laws-- it's a private citizenship matter.
Yep, the gays are royally screwed. Geez, isn't it bad enough for them? To know that, because of who you love, your job and relations with your family could be jepoardized. To know you can't really walk down the street holding hands with the one you love.
Makes me glad I'm just bi. I may have my own issues, but at least I won't lose my job.
Give that time, Lena. Like you, I'm bi, but this scares me because if you live together and have a problem-- you're screwed. I know too many elders who live together, I know too many gays and I know me-- this is a step in the wrong direction and as I ranted myself-- it needs to be redressed already.
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