Tallahassee, FL – The Florida Marriage Protection Amendment has now received more than the required 611,009 certified signatures needed to be placed on the November 2008 ballot. The number of signatures is more than any gathered thus far for marriage amendments in other states.

The Marriage Amendment states: “Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.” The language of the amendment was drafted by Mat and Anita Staver and is designed to protect marriage as one man and one woman. In January 2006, Mat Staver presented oral argument in defense of the language, and on March 23, 2006, the Florida Supreme Court in a 7-0 opinion rejected the ACLU’s challenge to the marriage amendment.

The Court ruled that “the voter is merely being asked to vote on the singular subject of whether the concept of marriage and the rights and obligations traditionally embodied therein should be limited to the union of one man and one woman.” The Court ruled that the Amendment would not cause a cataclysmic change in the law but would instead place in the state constitution the protection of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The Court wrote that “the chief purpose of the amendment is to ensure that unions between same-sex couples that are treated virtually identical to marriage will not be recognized in Florida.”

Following the ruling by the Court, it was still necessary to obtain the required number of signatures. Sponsored by Florida4Marriage.org headed by John Stemberger, a broad coalition of organizations worked together to form the largest grassroots signature petition drive in the history of Florida. The organizations will continue collecting signatures to build their base as they move closer to the November 2008 ballot.

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented on the occasion: “This is an historic day and the next big step to permanently protecting marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In November, Floridians will have the opportunity to protect marriage so that it will never be destroyed by the stroke of a judge’s pen. Protecting marriage is the best investment we can make in the lives of children and the future of Florida.