Florida Gay Marriage Ban May Fall Short

Thinking people realize that the real reason a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution that would ban gay marriage was revived by the Florida GOP was to try to turn out the Kool-Aid drinking wingnuts on election day. A new poll indicates that the proposal is likely to fail to secure enough votes for passage (a 60% approval rate is required to avoid bare majority mob rule - if Virginia had had a 60% requirement, the Virginia "Marriage Amendment" would also have failed). Odds are the members of the GOP who backed the measure never really cared whether or not it passed. Their sole purpose was to once again cynically use the irrational hatred of gays among the evangelicals for electoral advantage. It is a pretty sad statement about a political party when it will intentionally harm other citizens merely to retain its corrupt power. Unfortunately, that is what the Republican Party has now become. I sincerely hope that their cynical efforts to build discrimination into the state constitutions in Florida, California and Arizona all fail. Imagine the gnashing of teeth among the Christianists.Here are some highlights from WMBB-TV 13:

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A new poll suggests that the proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage may not have the support needed to pass in Florida. The survey released by Quinnipiac University shows that voters who were surveyed support the amendment by a margin of 55 to 41 percent. That falls short of the 60 percent required for passage.

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This latest poll shows a drop in support for the amendment. In early June, the same poll showed 58 percent of those surveyed supported the measure. Voters appears to be split along party lines with Republicans supporting the amendment, while Democrats and independents voters oppose it. A spokesman for Quinnipiac says the latest numbers are surprising considering similar amendments have passed in other states.

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The Quinnipiac also shows that Governor Charlie Crist continues to enjoy a high approval rating among those voters surveyed. Sixty-one percent approve of the job Crist is doing. That’s a drop from the 70 percent Crist had when he first took office.