Tallahassee, FL – Today in a 7-0 opinion, the Florida Supreme Court cleared the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment ("Amendment") to be placed on a statewide ballot once the 611,009 signatures are certified. Mathew Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, presented the argument on behalf of Florida4Marriage.org, the sponsor of the Amendment. The Amendment language was drafted by Liberty Counsel.

The 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 Court rejected the ACLU's single subject argument, which focused on the second clause, by ruling 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 also rejected the ACLU's argument regarding the Title and Ballot Summary. The Court ruled that the phrase "marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof" is "frequently used and understood by the common voter." 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." The opinion also states the Title and Ballot Summary adequately informs the voter that the chief purpose is "limiting marriage to the legal union of only one man and one woman." The Court also ruled that the word "protect" means to "maintain the status and integrity of" and thus is not misleading. Finally, the Court ruled that the Financial Impact Statement prepared by the Financial Impact Estimating Conference, which says that the "financial impact cannot be determined, but is expected to be minor," satisfies the statutory requirement.

In contrast to today's unanimous ruling upholding the Amendment, the Court, in a 6-1 vote struck down the apportionment amendment regarding legislative districts.

Staver, who argued the case, commented: "While most initiatives create something new, the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment protects something old. It does not change existing law. It preserves the status quo. Very soon the remaining signatures will be certified and the people of Florida will vote to protect traditional marriage. I have no doubt that this marriage amendment will pass by an overwhelming majority. Marriage should be decided by the people, not the courts."