Florida marriage amendment fails to qualify for ’06

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A nearly yearlong effort to allow Florida citizens to vote on a state constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage failed to gain the necessary 611,000 valid petitions, leaders of the Florida Coalition to Protect Marriage announced Feb. 1. The Florida Division of Elections Web site reported 456,363 valid petitions as of 10:30 p.m. Feb. 1 — the deadline to qualify the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment for the 2006 general election ballot. The coalition announced it will continue the petition effort with the hope of getting the measure qualified to appear on the 2008 ballot, the next statewide election. Under Florida law, the petitions gathered remain valid through 2008. That means that instead of being forced to start over, the coalition must gather nearly 155,000 more valid signatures prior to ’08.

The Florida Baptist State Convention in 2004 adopted a motion calling for a constitutional amendment and reaffirmed that action in 2005. The convention also contributed $40,000 to the coalition to help underwrite the petition effort. (TAB)