Bob Graham Against Amendment 2

Former Florida Governor and Senator Bob Graham has come out against Amendment 2. The amendment would make gay marriage illegal, under the Florida constitution. Here is the press release.

MIAMI, Fla. (October 17, 2008) – Florida’s popular former Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham has announced his opposition Amendment 2. He joins more than 200 prominent leaders and organizations on Florida Red & Blue’s Advisory Board against the so-called “Florida Marriage Protection Amendment.”

Renowned for his trademark “workdays,” ranging from serving as a busboy and a construction worker to a railroad engineer or a teacher, Graham served as Florida’s governor from 1979 to 1987 and as the state’s U.S. Senator from 1987 to 2005, notably as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Since retiring from the Senate, Graham now concentrates his efforts on the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Florida.

“The law of Florida defines marriage as an institution between one woman and one man,” said Graham. “It is not necessary to amend the state constitution to say it again. However, the words of Amendment 2 go beyond redundancy. They would terminate legal rights of unmarried couples, including elderly couples. Heterosexual domestic partners would lose health, pension, and visitation rights with potentially unanticipated, very negative consequences. Floridians know the laws and their rights today - Amendment 2 is too big a risk for our future.”

In opposing Amendment 2, Graham joins other Florida leaders who oppose Amendment 2, including Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, six additional members of Congress, Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, City of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, the League of Women Voters, the NAACP, Florida’s Professional Firefighters and the Florida Education Association, among others. Broward County voter and financial expert Suze Orman also has announced her opposition to the amendment.

Written in vague and undefined language, Amendment 2 could have dramatic consequences for Florida’s committed adults who form domestic partnerships, including unmarried seniors, eliminating their ability to share important health care and pension benefits. Because four existing state laws already define marriage, Amendment 2 is unnecessary and will spark costly litigation in an effort to determine what the amendment really does.

Florida Red & Blue is the bi-partisan, statewide organization running the SayNo2 campaign, which opposes Amendment 2. For more information on Florida Red & Blue’s SayNo2 campaign, please log on to www.SayNo2.com.