The so-called Florida Gay Marriage Constitutional Amendment is not about gay marriage...
[UPDATE FROM eQualityGiving: Florida voters approved on November 4, 2008 by a 62% majority an amendment to the state's constitution banning same sex couples from marrying or enjoying the benefits substantially equivalent to marriage.]
| By Jon Kislak | Contact  Jon Kislak is currently Campaign Chairman of Florida Red and Blue. Jon has been principal of Antares Capital Corporation in Miami Shores, Florida since 1999. Antares is a privately held venture capital firm investing equity capital in expansion stage companies and management buyout opportunities. From 1991 to 1999, Jon operated Kislak Capital Corporation.
Jon was Chairman of Kislak National Bank until 2005 when it was sold. From 1989 to 1991, Jon was Deputy Under Secretary and Acting Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
He sits on the board of several companies. His past civic involvements include President of the South Florida Council of the Boy Scouts, General Campaign Chairman of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Chairman of the Board of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), and Chairman of the Board of Camillus House, Inc. Jon also served as finance chairman for Bill McCollum and for Clay Shaw.
Jon holds a BA degree in Economics, Magna cum Laude, from Harvard College. He is married and has four children.
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You may know the "Marriage Protection" fight has officially made its way to Florida, with a vague and disingenuous amendment that will be on the presidential ballot in November.
Before we even talk about how dangerous and divisive this amendment is, let me introduce myself and then the Campaign I am leading to defeat this amendment.
I'm Jon Kislak and at first glance anyone would think I may appear a most unusual choice to lead a campaign like Florida Red and Blue. People on the campaign like to say I'm the "red" part of Florida Red and Blue. I'm a Republican. More than that, I'm an active Republican - I was Finance Chairman for the (now) Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and President George H.W. Bush appointed me to serve as Under Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture.
When people learn about my strong Republican credentials, they may assume I'm in this fight because I'm gay. That's not why I'm in this fight and, for the record, I am not gay. Which is not the same as saying I don't have a deeply personal reason to be engaged in this fight.
So why is a straight Republican leading a campaign to keep a "gay marriage" ban out of our State Constitution? In fact -- funny story -- the first question I got from a reporter last summer when we took Florida Red and Blue public was...
"WHAT'S A GOOD REPUBLICAN LIKE YOU DOING IN A PLACE LIKE THIS?"
Aside from this being the right fight for my state and my party from a political and policy perspective, I am in this fight for my grandson, Ezra. Ezra was born 2 years ago to my daughter Rebecca, and adopted by Joanna, Rebecca's partner of many years. They live in Rhode Island. Since Florida is the only state in the union to have a law expressly banning gays and lesbians from adopting, my daughter and her family are concerned every time they visit. And they certainly wouldn't live here.
Personally, I don't care how anyone feels about "gay marriage." It's just not right that our laws, public policy and social climate in Florida are so un-welcoming as to keep a Grandfather like me from seeing his grandson. Providence is a long way from Miami. I'm sure I'm not the only South Florida grandfather in this situation.
So, in a nutshell, that's why I'm with Florida Red and Blue as a donor, supporter and leader.
AND I AM PROUD TO BE JUST ONE LEADER...
We have an unprecedented and amazing Board of Directors which includes legendary Democratic finance man Bob Farmer (who has been national Treasurer of four Presidential campaigns, including Bill Clinton and John Kerry), the former national President of NOW Patricia Ireland, former Chairman of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce Peter Rhoulac and Jorge Mursuli, the national Vice President of People for the American Way.
With this group leading Florida Red and Blue, we're becoming more and more prepared every day. We've already raised more than $2 million to fight this amendment. We have more than 150 elected, religious and social leaders signed-on to oppose the amendment and we've already invested more than $175,000 in polling and research that will tell us how to manage this campaign and communicate to voters.
Now that it's official that the amendment will be put before voters (we expect it to be Florida Amendment 2), the real work begins.
We have to be successful in the nine months ahead of us because there's much more at stake than the investments of our donors. Real lives will be impacted by our successes and failures.
THE AMENDMENT HERE IN FLORIDA IS NOT JUST BAD...
it's very bad. The actual language is:
"Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."
You can see, this language goes way beyond just banning same-sex unions. The "substantial equivalent" language is untested and undefined and has the potential to be used to ban existing rights, benefits and protections for millions of Floridians.
In Florida, amendments now must receive 60% voter approval to pass. So the November vote is an outstanding opportunity to defeat this amendment.
Sending this amendment into to the electoral dust-bin would not only be great for Florida, it would send a great signal to the rest of the nation that a southern state - one with rich diversity - saw past the misleading appeals to reactive politics. Wining here would send the unmistakable message that Arizona was not a fluke -- these amendments are not slam-dunks anymore.
We'd love for Florida to become the proverbial "line in the sand," where those who push these ballot measures come to understand that future efforts will be met by well funded, organized, bi-partisan opposition. And most importantly, opponents who can and will win.
It's my hope that I'll be able to keep each of you up to speed on Florida Red and Blue and the progress we're making. Of course, you can always visit our campaign website at www.FloridaRedandBlue.com.
Thank you for taking the time to read my article and be engaged in this crucial struggle here in Florida and everywhere.
And thank you, Juan and Ken, for allowing me to be a member of this forum to view the interchanges over the last six months. Now is the time to no longer be silent. Our battle has begun in earnest.
Jon Kislak
Campaign Chair
Florida Red and Blue
