Posted on Thu, Dec. 13, 2007

Supporters of a constitutional ban against same-sex marriage in Florida are slated to announce Thursday that they have enough signatures to put the issue on the 2008 ballot.

The Florida Division of Elections website reported 610,817 valid signatures late Wednesday, 192 names shy of the requirement for a citizen-backed referendum. Florida4Marriage leader John Stemberger said the threshold would be cleared Thursday. ''The people of Florida have spoken,'' said Stemberger, an Orlando attorney who also leads the Florida Family Policy Council. ``Marriage is between one man and one woman.''

Florida law already bans gay marriage, but supporters of a constitutional amendment say it would provide a backstop in case it changes.

Two opposition groups have already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, while donations to Florida4Marriage have dropped off. Constitutional amendments need 60 percent of the vote to pass.

''It's going to be a challenge, but we're going to run an aggressive campaign,'' Stemberger said.

One of the groups opposed to the referendum, Florida Red and Blue, plans to focus on its potential repercussions for live-in partners, in hopes of duplicating the 2006 success of gay rights advocates in Arizona, the first state to reject a same-sex marriage ban.

Florida Red and Blue contends that the amendment could strike down domestic partnership laws in Broward County, Miami Beach, Key West and West Palm Beach that allow heterosexual couples to receive hospital visitation rights and health insurance benefits.

''When Florida knows exactly what this amendment is and will do, they will vote against it,'' said the group's spokesman, Stephen Gaskill. ``It's a massive government intrusion into people's lives.''