Strong opinions ring proposed marriage amendment

Posted on October 22, 2008
Filed Under Gay News Blog

After nearly 14 years together, Tim Wilson and Mack McKinley can’t imagine life without each other. The DeBary men plan to grow old together, and they’ve given one another medical power of attorney and “main benefactor” status in their wills.

Beau McDaniels and her partner, Susan, fell in love in 1996. The 60-something women own a home together in Ormond Beach, and they’ve been to a lawyer to set up living wills, durable power of attorney and other legal protections.

Two younger DeLand women have raised a 14-year-old son together, and they share everything, including a home and insurance benefits.

All three same-sex couples will be glued to their televisions the night of Nov. 4, watching to see if everything from their life insurance to their ability to visit one another in the hospital will be thrust into legal limbo by the vote on Amendment 2.

Backers of the state constitutional amendment say the measure simply defines marriage and protects that definition from the whims of a judge or the state Legislature. They argue any unmarried couple, gay or straight, wouldn’t lose a single job benefit or legal protection.

But opponents say it’s a thinly veiled attempt to keep legalized gay marriage out of Florida, and a death sentence for the rights same-sex couples have had to fight for.

“It’s unnecessary government intrusion in personal matters,” said Wilson, a 51-year-old professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

“It would write hate into our constitution,” said David Perreault, an openly gay Port Orange man.

Strong opinions ring proposed marriage amendment
Daytona Beach News-Journal – Daytona Beach,FL,USA