More Voting Info
Early voting in Florida begins October 20th. I'll be going to my local library (Coral Reef) to vote sometime between then and November 2.
The ballot for Miami-Dade County looks like this. If you live elsewhere, you can find your ballot here by giving your address. It's imperative that voters be aware of the rest of the ballot, not just the General Election campaign for President.
In Florida there are six state consitutional amendments to be decided, not the least of which is Amendment 2--an act designed to take Florida's narrow definition of marriage (limited to the union of a man and a woman) and constitutionally ensure that no other institution is considered substantially equivalent to it. In other words, homosexual citizens--who are already prohibited from marrying in Florida--could not legally have a civil union or domestic partnership contract that approaches the rights afforded by heterosexual marriage, even if the state legislature were to pass a law permitting civil unions or the like.
Far from "protecting" marriage as the name of the Amendment states, this is a clear targeting of a minority "suspect class" (a categorization the Supreme Court has assigned to race and gender but generally neglected to apply to sexual orientation) by a majority group in full violation of the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. While the recent news about Connecticut overturning their state ban on same-sex marriage is encouraging, the case is not controlling in Florida and will carry little weight as precedent. Although a good attorney could make the same Equal Protection arguments (e.g., civil unions create an unconstitutional "separate but equal" category for homosexuals, but denying homosexuals the ability to marry or create any form of domestic partnership is even more discriminatory), the process is a long and thorny one that could be frustrated by conservative Florida judges.
I urge all Floridians who believe in fairness and equal rights to vote NO on Amendment 2. With the poll numbers showing greater than 50% approval for this measure, it's likely to pass (threshold for Amendment passage is 60%.) Though I'd like to think it would eventually be struck down as unconstitutional by a Fourteenth Amendment challenge, that might take an intolerably long time to happen. Better not to let it happen in the first place. Check out SayNo2 for more info.
(I'd also like to see that scumbag Lincoln Diaz-Balart out of office--which is why I'll be voting for former Hialeah mayor Raul L. Martinez as my District 21 Representative--but I doubt he'll be dislodged. He's pissed off a lot of people, including those in his own party, but he still has plenty of support from the older generations in Miami.)
The ballot for Miami-Dade County looks like this. If you live elsewhere, you can find your ballot here by giving your address. It's imperative that voters be aware of the rest of the ballot, not just the General Election campaign for President.
In Florida there are six state consitutional amendments to be decided, not the least of which is Amendment 2--an act designed to take Florida's narrow definition of marriage (limited to the union of a man and a woman) and constitutionally ensure that no other institution is considered substantially equivalent to it. In other words, homosexual citizens--who are already prohibited from marrying in Florida--could not legally have a civil union or domestic partnership contract that approaches the rights afforded by heterosexual marriage, even if the state legislature were to pass a law permitting civil unions or the like.
Far from "protecting" marriage as the name of the Amendment states, this is a clear targeting of a minority "suspect class" (a categorization the Supreme Court has assigned to race and gender but generally neglected to apply to sexual orientation) by a majority group in full violation of the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. While the recent news about Connecticut overturning their state ban on same-sex marriage is encouraging, the case is not controlling in Florida and will carry little weight as precedent. Although a good attorney could make the same Equal Protection arguments (e.g., civil unions create an unconstitutional "separate but equal" category for homosexuals, but denying homosexuals the ability to marry or create any form of domestic partnership is even more discriminatory), the process is a long and thorny one that could be frustrated by conservative Florida judges.
Click to viewI urge all Floridians who believe in fairness and equal rights to vote NO on Amendment 2. With the poll numbers showing greater than 50% approval for this measure, it's likely to pass (threshold for Amendment passage is 60%.) Though I'd like to think it would eventually be struck down as unconstitutional by a Fourteenth Amendment challenge, that might take an intolerably long time to happen. Better not to let it happen in the first place. Check out SayNo2 for more info.
(I'd also like to see that scumbag Lincoln Diaz-Balart out of office--which is why I'll be voting for former Hialeah mayor Raul L. Martinez as my District 21 Representative--but I doubt he'll be dislodged. He's pissed off a lot of people, including those in his own party, but he still has plenty of support from the older generations in Miami.)