Two More States To Vote On Same-Sex Marriage In November

Florida and Arizona added to list of states affording same-sex couples equal rights

While much of the national spotlight has focused on the battle to uphold the legality of same-sex marriage in California, voters in Florida and Arizona will also make a critical decision concerning LGBT and civil rights on Election Day.

Arizona state residents will have a chance to vote on Proposition 102, which was opposed in 2006. Florida state residents will vote on whether or not to pass Amendment 2. Both propose to ban same-sex marriage, which could potentially outlaw other forms of relationships like domestic partnerships.

“In as much as a marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife,” the summary of the ballot measure in Florida reads, “no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the
substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.”

Supporters of same-sex marriage urge voters to reject the amendments on the grounds that they could make domestic partnerships illegal and thereby eliminate the health care and pension benefits those unions provide to all manner of pairings.

Governor Charlie Crist (R-FL), often rumored to be gay, announced that he supports Amendment 2. Sixty percent of voters must support the ballot initiative for it to pass, but recent polls indicate that only 55 percent of voters in Florida favor it.


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