What is the Effect of the Term Substantial Equivalent?

Stetson Law School Professor, Cynthia Hawkins-Leon, explains the meaning and impact of the term substantial equivalent in the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment. There is no impact on domestic partnerships.

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News & Politics

Tags:

• Yes2Marriage.org
• florida
• family
• policy
• council
• john
• stemberger
• amendment
• marriage
• protection
• gay
• debate
• Equivalent

[RPGREE02]

please don't talk about race and gays as the same movement. It was the courts that forced miscegenation laws on the country and it took the courts to correct their mistakes.  Also, blacks and everyone else were always allowed to marry, that was not kept from them, even during slavery. It was that whites could not marry anyone but whites (hence a violation of equal protection). Gays can get married in the U.S., just not to the same sex. If not for activist judges, people would not be apathetic

[silvermoon577]

One man one woman.

[csrgatorfan]

Gay marriage is just a tool to achieve something else. The big picture is about silencing and censoring people like me who take a stand for biblical principals. With that accomplished it will make it a crime for anyone to speak the truth--God's truth and law (just look at Canada and Sweden for example). When we cease to obey God and force the removal of His hand, chaos ensues. Just look at New Orleans after Katrina blew through. You saw the true nature of people following that. -continued--

[tmf866]

Ah, the myth of liberal massachusetts. Massachusetts has something like 3/4 catholic population. Massachusetts had something like 18 years of republican governors prior to this year. Massachusetts voters voted something like 48% for Bush in the last election. Massachusetts opinion polls on gay marriage were four years ago where the rest of the country is now, but after three years of it the voters have seen that the sky hasn't fallen. The rest of the country will slowly follow.

[csrgatorfan]

tmf866, if you read the comments from mfrey closely, you'll see that he (or she) said the vast majority of AMERICANS, not just the single (and highly liberal) state of Massachusetts, do not validate gay marriage and since there are twenty-seven or twenty-eight other states (out of a total of fifty) that have ratified similar pro-hetero ammendments, I'd say you're the one that needs to deal with it.

[tmf866]

In Massachusetts, several legislative elections since gay marriage was enacted, the voters elected a legislature that voted over 75% in favor of gay marriage. After three years of gay marriage, polling is showing that a little less than 50% supports gay marriage, a little less than 50% opposes it, and the rest don't care. So, you're entirely wrong about the vast majority. Deal with it.

[mfrey0118]

Marriage is between one man and one woman and that's how it should stay. Gay people unite all you want and throw tantrums all you want but the VAST majority of American people will not validate your behavior, no matter how badly you want us to. Get over it.