Florida Amendment 2, Definition of Marriage Initiative (2008)
| Florida Amendment 2 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic LGBTQ issues and Marriage and family |
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| Status |
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| Type Initiated constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Florida Amendment 2 was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in Florida on November 4, 2008. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported establishing that marriage only be recognized as a union between one man and one woman. |
A “no” vote opposed establishing that marriage only be recognized as a union between one man and one woman. |
Election results
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Florida Amendment 2 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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4,890,883 | 61.92% | ||
| No | 3,008,026 | 38.08% | ||
Overview
What was this amendment designed to do?=
This amendment was designed to provide that marriage only be recognized as a union between one man and one woman.
Aftermath
Sixteenth Circuit Court
On July 17, 2014, Judge Luis Garcia of Florida's Sixteenth Circuit Court overturned Amendment 2 ruling that it effectively made same-sex couples second-class citizens. The ruling only applies to Monroe County, but Garcia said that marriage licenses could start being issued there on July 22, 2014.[1] However, due to an appeal filed just shortly after the ruling, a stay has been placed upon Garcia's ruling. This means that licenses will not be available to same-sex couples unless a higher court upholds his ruling.[2]
Eleventh Circuit Court
On July 25, 2014, Judge Sarah I. Zabel of the Florida 11th Circuit Court ruled similarly to overturn the ban in Miami-Dade County. Zabel immediately stayed the ruling until appeals are heard, and Attorney General of Florida Pam Bondi (R) filed an appeal on the same day.[3]
Seventeenth Circuit Court
On August 5, 2014, a third judge, Judge Dale Cohen of the Broward County Circuit Court, ruled the ban was unconstitutional, as well. Similar to the prior two rulings, this ruling only applies to Broward County, and Cohen placed an immediate stay on his ruling.[4]
Fifteenth Circuit Court
Also on August 5, 2014, a fourth judge, Judge Diana Lewis of the Palm Beach County Circuit Court, ruled against the ban in a probate case. This ruling applies only to this specific case which allowed a widower to be the personal representative of the deceased's estate.[5]
U.S. District Court
On August 21, 2014, Judge Robert Hinkle of the U.S. District Court of Northern Florida ruled the marriage ban unconstitutional, making him the first federal judge to rule on the issue in Florida. The judge claimed that the ban violated the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantees of equal protection and due process and also compared it to laws against interracial marriages. Judge Hinkle stayed his decision, meaning no same-sex marriage licenses could be given, and out of state same-sex marriages were not yet recognized. Attorney General of Florida Pam Bondi (R), who appealed the decisions by the previous four judges, challenged this order.[6][7]
Judge Hinkle's stay on his decision was designed to expire 91 days after the United States Supreme Court denied cert in other same-sex marriage cases, which occurred on October 6, 2014. Therefore, Hinkle's stay was set to expire on January 5, 2015. Both the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and Supreme Court refused to grant an additional stay on the decision.[8][9]
On January 1, 2015, Hinkle ruled that county clerks across the state must start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples by January 6, 2015.[10]
U.S. Supreme Court
- See also: Obergefell v. Hodges
On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution in the case Obergefell v. Hodges. The ruling overturned bans on same-sex marriage.[11]
Justice Anthony Kennedy authored the opinion and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito each authored a dissent.[12]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Amendment 2 was as follows:
| “ | This amendment protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and provides that no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Constitutional changes
The text of the amendment read:
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DECLARATION OF RIGHTS 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.[13] |
Support
Florida4Marriage led the campaign in support of the amendment.
Supporters
Officials
- Gov. Charlie Crist (D)
Arguments
You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org
Opposition
Florida Red and Blue led the campaign opposing the amendment.
Opponents
Organizations
- American Civil Liberties Union
- League of Women Voters of Florida
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Arguments
You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org
Path to the ballot
The ballot measure was an initiated constitutional amendment. Proponents collected signatures to place the initiative on the ballot.
The campaign Florida4Marriage proposed the amendment. The initiative was certified with 649,346 signatures and was placed on the ballot in February 2008.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Associated Press, "Judge Overturns Gay Marriage Ban In Florida Keys," July 17, 2014
- ↑ News Press, "Florida marriage equality activists cheer court ruling," July 18, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "Same-Sex Marriage Ban Struck Down for Miami Area," July 25, 2014
- ↑ West Hawaii Today, "3rd Florida judge rules gay marriage ban unconstitutional," August 5, 2014
- ↑ Florida Courier, "Another judge rules same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional," August 7, 2014
- ↑ New York Times, "Florida: Federal Judge Strikes Down Ban on Same-Sex Marriage," August 21, 2014
- ↑ USA Today, "U.S. judge strikes down Fla. ban on same-sex marriage," August 21, 2014
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, "Order - Motion to stay pending appeal denied," December 3, 2014
- ↑ Metro Weekly, "Supreme Court allows Florida same-sex marriages to proceed," December 19, 2014
- ↑ The Guardian, "Same-sex marriages to begin in Florida after new ruling from federal judge," January 2, 2015
- ↑ NPR, "Supreme Court Declares Same-Sex Marriage Legal In All 50 States," June 26, 2015
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Obergefell v. Hodges," June 26, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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