ACLU urges opposition to marriage amendment

    BY PAT GILLESPIE • ;

    Officials from the American Civil Liberties Union, at a meeting Saturday at Lakes Regional Library in south Fort Myers, urged Southwest Florida residents to spread the word of opposition to a constitutional amendment that will appear on November's ballot.

    The amendment would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. ACLU officials are worried the ballot's language will make it difficult for unmarried couples who share benefits, many of them seniors, to continue that.

    The issue is poised to come up this summer and fall as two sides are defined - groups such as the ACLU have joined with Florida Red and Blue opposing the amendment, while Florida4Marriage.org is joined by church groups in support of yes votes.

    Florida4Marriage Chairman John Stemberger, an Orlando attorney, said the amendment is simply going to define marriage as between a man and woman and won't interfere with domestic partnership rights.

    "It's not going to affect those," he said in an interview Thursday. "It's really a very dastardly and hardcore tactic to try to scare senior citizens."

    Both sides are providing opposing information about the potential affects of the amendment. David Ganim, who works for gay rights with the ACLU, said the only sure outcome of the amendment is lawsuits in the future.

    "What we do know is it's going to end up in the legal system," he said Saturday. "Do we really want that headache?"

    Ganim gave about 50 in attendance Saturday tips on how to sway voters to deny the amendment - don't refer to the amendment as a gay marriage amendment and stress the amendment would take away people's rights.

    Karen Glegg of Naples said she opposes the amendment because she believes people in domestic partnerships who share benefits will suffer.

    "I think this is a real issue for heterosexual as well as gay couples," she said. "We already banned gay marriage in this state whether you agree with it or not. I feel very strongly about treating everyone fairly."

    Stemberger said both sides are spreading their message.

    "I think it's going to be a very close race," he said.