As most of you already know, Florida voters will go to the polls on November 4, 2008 to vote on an amendment to the Florida Constitution that attempts to limit the recognition of same sex relationships. Specifically, the proposed amendment, known in Florida as Amendment 2, does two things. It defines marriage between one man and one woman, and it also prohibits the recognition of any union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent to marriage. The text of the amendment reads:

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.

The legal question that is raised by this proposed amendment is what the phrase "substantial equivalent" to marriage will mean under the law.

Last year, I saw a law professor from Stetson Law School say during a debate that Amendment 2 doesn't appear to do anything but ban marriage for same sex couples. She came to this conclusion by just reading the amendment. She didn't have any legal support for her conclusion, and she didn't discuss what has happened in the other states that have passed similar constitutional amendments. She simply stated that she knew what that phrase meant because she was a family law professor. I guess she thinks we should just trust her because this is her "specialty"!