Supporters of constitutional ban on gay marriage launch campaign in West Palm Beach, around the state -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Supporters of constitutional ban on gay marriage launch campaign in West Palm Beach, around the state -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

By Mark Hollis

Sun-Sentinel.com

4:43 PM EDT, April 17, 2008

WEST PALM BEACH

Married 53 years ago, Sidney and Cecile Lenier of West Palm Beach stood at a news conference Thursday holding a weathered copy of a circa-1883 "pastor's handbook" containing their wedding vows, and spoke of the virtues of marriages like theirs that involve a man and woman.

"It takes a mom and a dad and all the children and grandchildren in the family to be successful," said Cecile, 71.

Added Sidney, 74: "So many of our social problems are because of those who don't have both a father and mother."

The Leniers and 15 or so other backers of a Florida ballot amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and woman kicked off their campaign today in West Palm Beach, joining organizers in nine other cities, mostly at Baptist churches.

Amendment 2, which will be on the November ballot, would embed Florida's ban against gay marriage into the state constitution. Its support lies mainly with social conservatives. A group pushing for its passage recently changed its name to Yes2Marriage and is hoping to put Florida on a list with 27 other states that have constitutional bans on gay marriage.

Virginia Brooks, local co-chair of the group, said marriage defined as a union between a man and woman "has been the norm and the rule throughout history" but is "under attack in the modern world."

"If marriage is not for just man and woman, it could be anything," said Brooks, a retired Palm Beach Community College professor and leader in a local chapter of the Christian Coalition. "We could end up not only with same sex marriage but it would open the door to things like polygamy and group-sex marriage, none of which according to the literature has ever been shown to be any benefit to children and society as a whole."

Groups campaigning against the amendment include Florida Red & Blue and Fairness for All Families. Those organizations have cautioned that the amendment threatens to unravel health and retirement benefits for unmarried couples, straight and gay, by blocking civil unions and domestic partnerships.

Stephen Gaskill, a spokesman for Red & Blue, issued a statement in response to the news conferences. He said, "Behind all the negative political rhetoric, there are two undisputed facts about Amendment 2. First, Amendment 2 won't ban 'gay marriage' since same-sex unions are already prohibited by not less than four separate Florida laws. Second, Amendment 2 could dramatically interfere with existing benefits and legal protections for all Floridians."

But Luke Thornton of Lake Worth, an Amendment 2 supporter at the West Palm Beach rally, insisted that that amendment would have no infringement on anyone's benefits. Thornton said critics of the amendment are relying on a strategy used successfully in Arizona in defeating a similar gay marriage ban amendment by generating opposition from heterosexual senior citizens.

"Those that oppose this amendment are waging a campaign that's not true. They're airing deceptive statements to scare senior citizens," Thornton said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."

Mark Hollis can be reached at mhollis@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5512.