Gay activists with the group Equality Florida announced Tuesday they are filing a federal lawsuit to attempt to overturn Florida’s Marriage Protection Amendment.
In 2008, 62 percent of Floridians voted to pass the historical amendment supported by the Florida Family Policy Council (FFPC).
“Gay activists cannot win in the marketplace of ideas, so they have resorted to trying to find renegade courts who have little respect for the rule of law to create social change that would never happen through the people or their elected representatives,” John Stemberger, FFPC president and general counsel, said in a statement.
“Today’s lawsuit is nothing more than a publicity stunt,” he continued. “Filed in Miami, it represents ‘forum shopping’ in the most liberal legal venue in the state.” However, we are confident that Florida’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, will provide a vigorous defense of Florida’s long-held law and, in doing so, will expose the radical views and overreaching legal positions set forth in today’s lawsuit.
“The Florida Family Policy Council will vigorously defend the victory of 2008 and the constitutional mandate from Floridians that marriage is between one man and one woman. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens volunteered to see marriage protected in Florida, and we will not sit idly by and watch leftist groups try to undermine this common-sense legal precedent. We will spend as much time and money as necessary to oppose those who seek to redefine marriage in Florida.”
“The six same-sex plaintiff couples in this lawsuit appear to be very sincere and are certainly free to self-define themselves and have private civil commitment ceremonies,” Stemberger added. “But they and the activists who motivated them are not free to redefine a fundamental human institution which has served civilization since the beginning of time.”
He concluded, “In states where marriage has been redefined, it has produced absurd results—in the law, in education, in religious liberties and in what is best for children, families and the common good of society. When it comes to defining marriage, history will always be on the side of nature, biology, logic and the collective wisdom of human history. We look forward to a robust debate on this issue as it makes it way through the courts.”
