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An event intended both to highlight the political accomplishments of an anti-Amendment 2 group and honor a gay women who works in the public eye has united them to work together to achieve their goals.
More than 3,000 members of the GLBT community and their supporters met in Washington, DC this weekend to attend an array of Human Rights Campaign (HRC) events culminating with the star-studded HRC 12th Annual National Dinner.
Among the featured guests of the HRC event were representatives of Florida Red and Blue, the statewide campaign dedicated to defeating “marriage protection” Amendment 2, who spoke with HRC’s Board of Directors and Board of Governors. Michael Kenny, Joe Fuld and Tony Fabrizio highlighted the current struggle in Florida and outlined their strategy for defeating Amendment 2.
“HRC has been a great supporter of the effort to defeat Amendment 2,” said Kenny, Deputy Campaign Manager for Florida Red and Blue. “They asked us to speak to the Board of Directors and Board of Governors and give a status update on the campaign.”
Kenny says the staff of Florida Red and Blue is “cautiously optimistic,” as a variety of polls have indicated Amendment 2 sits on the fence with voters, with only a few percentage points needed to tilt it either way.
Examples of Florida Red and Blue’s work can be found in a variety of independently-funded polls, where subjects were asked their opinions on Amendment 2, before they were informed on the full legal ramifications of what the amendment will restrict. Amendment 2 is promoted as “protecting marriage” from allowing gay couples to legally wed, a campaign meant mainly to drive conservative voters to the polls in November.
“Calling it an anti-gay marriage amendment is red meat for extremists,” he said. “It’s an attempt at social engineering.”
But although the amendment was launched as an anti-gay initiative, it is actually more harmful to heterosexual couples who live in domestic partnerships, which will be voided if the amendment passes. According to Kenny, in the state of Florida, 90% of domestic partnerships are among heterosexual couples.
The loosely worded Amendment 2 is particularly damaging to seniors who rely on domestic partnership agreements to protect their rights and provide healthcare benefits. For instance, widows who receive pension benefits from their deceased spouses will lose those benefits if they re-marry; so domestic partnership agreements are often their only legal option.
‘’This is about all the unintended consequences,” he said. “This isn’t us making up stuff to alarm people. This is fact. I don’t think (sponsors of Amendment 2) care who the collateral damage is… if we have the opportunity to inform the voters what this amendment is really about, we will defeat the amendment.’”
Florida Red and Blue is targeting voters in more conservative areas of the state, mostly in northern and western cities. A new TV commercial features Wayne Rauen (a male Republican) and Helene Milman (a female Democrat), who have been together for 23 years, who have been registered as domestic partners since 1999. In their case, Wayne would not have been granted visitation rights to see Helene while she waited prior to her breast cancer surgery, had they not been registered as domestic partners.
Emmy Award-winning television host, best-selling author, and personal finance expert Suze Orman received the HRC National Equality Award on Saturday. Orman has been fighting for GLBT equality throughout her career, and she cited examples as far back as 1980 when she was able to have Merrill Lynch change their awards invitations from “spouse” to “significant other.” Most recently, she was instrumental in prompting the FDIC to change its insurance policies so that all individuals are treated equally.
“If we can stay strong, if we can stay vital, then we can make changes,” said Orman.
She then brought out the “most vital person in (her) life,” her life partner, Kathy “K.T.” Travis. Orman and Travis have rarely made public appearances together.
In her awards acceptance speech, Suze went on to say that until all relationships are treated equally at the federal level, “we have nothing.” She also received a standing ovation when she declared, “I don’t want to be a lesbian who is tolerated.”
Later in the evening, Orman stated she would lend her name to Florida Red and Blue’s “Say No to 2” campaign. Orman said she is particularly concerned that the amendment is harmful ...
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