Florida battle over gay-marriage amendment heating up

With just over a month until Election Day, Florida's religious community is uniting in support of a ballot question that would ban same-sex marriages in Florida.

A handful of church leaders gathered Tuesday outside the Miami-Dade County Courthouse in a show of solidarity for Amendment 2, saying it is needed to save the institution of marriage.

''We're here united to define marriage as one man and one woman,'' said Mark Gonzales, a Texas pastor and founder of Es Tiempo De Votar 2008, a nonpartisan group aimed at boosting voter turnout among Hispanics nationwide.

"We're here to define marriage as it was instituted by God.''

Though gay marriage is already illegal in Florida, the amendment, if passed, would be tacked onto the Florida Constitution, making it difficult for a judge to overturn.

Similar amendments are on the November ballot in California and Arizona, but Florida is the only state that requires 60 percent support for passage.

Voters in 27 other states have already approved the measure.

Read the full story at MiamiHerald.com

Florida battle over gay-marriage amendment heating up

McClatchy Washington Bureau