Governor's Race 2006 - Two Democrats Court Gay Vote
The two candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for governor made their pitches to a politically active group of gay Democrats in Fort Lauderdale
BY LESLEY CLARK mailto:CLARKlclark@herald.com
Florida's two Democratic candidates for governor told a gay political group Wednesday night that they would work to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages.
U.S. Rep. Jim Davis and state Sen. Rod Smith also said they support allowing gays to adopt children and extending legal benefits to gay partners.
Though they oppose tinkering with the state's Constitution to ban gay marriage, they both said they oppose allowing gays to wed in Florida -- a point that disappointed the crowd of about 50 people at the Dolphin Democratic Club in Fort Lauderdale. This article continues...
Their stances on several issues did little to differentiate the two from each other, but it did put them at odds with their Republican rivals on a hot button social issue: Both Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher and Attorney General Charlie Crist have embraced the proposed amendment.
''I'll speak against it; I think it's wrong,'' said Davis, who is from Tampa. `It goes far beyond marriage -- it could affect your ability to visit your partners in the hospital, to hold property.''
Smith, a former Gainesville-area prosecutor, said he believes the amendment is being used to increase turnout for next fall's election. He noted Florida law already bans same-sex marriage.
''Everywhere I go, I tell people I'm against it,'' Smith said in an interview after the talk. ``Gay marriages aren't legal in Florida. Are we going to have the Constitution banning what we've already said is against the law?''
A coalition of conservative and Christian groups headed by the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel is gathering petitions to put the issue before Florida voters in November 2006, when both Davis and Smith hope to be on the ballot as the Democratic nominee for governor.
Their visit to the Fort Lauderdale Democratic club marked the first time the two appeared together since the race for the Democratic nomination was winnowed down to those two. Former Democratic Party chief Scott Maddox bowed out last Friday, citing party unity.
Davis, who noted he had been endorsed by Maddox, said he had voted to include sexual orientation in recent federal hate-crime legislation and had voted against congressional proposals to amend the Constitution to ban gay marriage.
Smith pledged to pursue a bill in the upcoming legislative session that would allow gay foster parents, in some cases, to adopt children. Florida is the only state in the nation with a complete ban on adoption by gays.
''These children need a loving home,'' Smith said. ``Certainly as a state we have an interest in seeing that children in need of love get it.''
Neither candidate said they would support gay marriage, with Davis calling marriage a ''religious sacrament established by the church.'' But he said he would work to extend to gay partners benefits, including visitation, adoption and inheritance. ''The same benefits should be established for all couples, for all families in Florida,'' he said.
BY LESLEY CLARK mailto:CLARKlclark@herald.com
Florida's two Democratic candidates for governor told a gay political group Wednesday night that they would work to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages.
U.S. Rep. Jim Davis and state Sen. Rod Smith also said they support allowing gays to adopt children and extending legal benefits to gay partners.
Though they oppose tinkering with the state's Constitution to ban gay marriage, they both said they oppose allowing gays to wed in Florida -- a point that disappointed the crowd of about 50 people at the Dolphin Democratic Club in Fort Lauderdale. This article continues...
Their stances on several issues did little to differentiate the two from each other, but it did put them at odds with their Republican rivals on a hot button social issue: Both Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher and Attorney General Charlie Crist have embraced the proposed amendment.
''I'll speak against it; I think it's wrong,'' said Davis, who is from Tampa. `It goes far beyond marriage -- it could affect your ability to visit your partners in the hospital, to hold property.''
Smith, a former Gainesville-area prosecutor, said he believes the amendment is being used to increase turnout for next fall's election. He noted Florida law already bans same-sex marriage.
''Everywhere I go, I tell people I'm against it,'' Smith said in an interview after the talk. ``Gay marriages aren't legal in Florida. Are we going to have the Constitution banning what we've already said is against the law?''
A coalition of conservative and Christian groups headed by the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel is gathering petitions to put the issue before Florida voters in November 2006, when both Davis and Smith hope to be on the ballot as the Democratic nominee for governor.
Their visit to the Fort Lauderdale Democratic club marked the first time the two appeared together since the race for the Democratic nomination was winnowed down to those two. Former Democratic Party chief Scott Maddox bowed out last Friday, citing party unity.
Davis, who noted he had been endorsed by Maddox, said he had voted to include sexual orientation in recent federal hate-crime legislation and had voted against congressional proposals to amend the Constitution to ban gay marriage.
Smith pledged to pursue a bill in the upcoming legislative session that would allow gay foster parents, in some cases, to adopt children. Florida is the only state in the nation with a complete ban on adoption by gays.
''These children need a loving home,'' Smith said. ``Certainly as a state we have an interest in seeing that children in need of love get it.''
Neither candidate said they would support gay marriage, with Davis calling marriage a ''religious sacrament established by the church.'' But he said he would work to extend to gay partners benefits, including visitation, adoption and inheritance. ''The same benefits should be established for all couples, for all families in Florida,'' he said.
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