State Attorney candidate Glenn Hess wants you to know he does not support same-sex marriage, because readers of a Christian Coalition voter guide distributed this week will not know that from what they see in it.
Hess is listed correctly in the guide as opposing an amendment to the Florida Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. His opponent, incumbent State Attorney Steve Meadows, is listed correctly as favoring the amendment, listed on the ballot as Amendment 2.
But Hess said his response to the same-sex marriage question was not published, which could give a false impression.
"I oppose (Amendment 2) because the constitution is supposed to be the blueprint for the construction of our government. It's supposed to set out the powers and duties of the branches of government," Hess said Thursday. "It is not supposed to be the blueprint for the structure of a family."
He said there is a statute - which he supports - already established in Florida that defines marriage and prohibits same-sex unions.
Meadows said he "enthusiastically" supports the amendment because he is "firmly in favor of defining marriage as between one man and one woman."
"The relationships that adult citizens have in the privacy of their own homes should not be the business of the state," Meadows said. "Nor should we be asked to allow change of the very nature of the marriage relationship. I believe it is wrong to fundamentally alter the basic building block of society and families -the union of a man and a woman in marriage. The preservation of this sacred institution by passage of this amendment will serve the greater interest in our society."
Hess said he answered no to Question 1, which was whether he supported same-sex marriage, and no to Question 2, as to whether he supported the marriage amendment. Only his answer to Question 2, he said, made it to the voter guide.
He acknowledged his answer to the marriage amendment question was "politically incorrect."
"I told the truth," Hess said. "If it comes to a choice between telling the truth and telling people what they want to hear, I will always tell the truth."
Local candidates listed as supporting the amendment are not in the majority in the guide. Meadows and three others, Florida House candidates Clay Ford and Brad Drake and U.S. Congress candidate Jeff Miller, support the measure. Hess is the only local candidate to openly oppose the amendment, but four others, U.S. Congress candidates James Bryan, Allen Boyd and Mark Mulligan, along with Florida House candidates Luman May and John McDaniel, did not respond to the question.