Sad Day for Florida Equal Civil Rights For All Citizens 
 
I prepared two responses to share with you, once the outcome of Amendment 2 was confirmed. I had hoped and prayed that this wouldn't be the one I would be sending. The results are in, as absolutely devastating they are to me personally and hundreds of Fairness For All Families - Vote NoOn2 campaigns volunteers who worked tirelessly 24/7 to defeat it. We are extremely grateful to the 37.9% (2,857,187*) of fair-minded Floridians who cast their votes opposing Amendment 2. Sadly, the authors and supporters of this mean-spirited Amendment succeeded in reaching the 62.1% (4,679,896*) required to have the dangerous and discriminatory language  of this Amendment included into Florida's States Constitution. 
 
I had written more to share, however, Nadine covered my personal feelings and was much more optimistic than my original message. So, I decided to share her words in lieu of mine.
 
In Peace & Pride
Zeke

R. Zeke Fread
Fairness For All Families - Vote No On 2 Campaign Tampa Bay Steering Committee
Director Pride Tampa Bay
Vote No On 2 Home:
http://www.votenoon2.com 
Pride Tampa Bay Vote No On 2 News and Updates
http://PrideTB.homestead.com/tampa.html

Dear Zeke,

We wish the news were better.

The results are in and, although the race is very close, it appears certain that Amendment 2 has passed.

While 62.2% of Floridians voted to add this language to the constitution, there is a silver lining to this fight.

There has never been stronger support for Domestic Partnership and Civil Unions than today in Florida. Every single poll has shown a broad and growing majority of Floridians believe in providing vital protections to unmarried couples.

We have built a strong coalition like never before. Our allies not only said NO to Amendment 2, they rallied and canvassed and phone banked and stood shoulder to shoulder in the field with us.

Thank you for your incredible commitment to the Fairness For All Families' Vote No On 2 Campaign. We may have lost this battle, but our state is moving toward fairness.

The extremists behind amendment 2 insisted over-and-over that it would have no effect on protections for unmarried couples. We'll hold them to their word and fight tooth-and-nail to ensure not one single person loses their health care or other vital protections because of this discriminatory amendment.

Over the past three years, the Fairness for All Families / Vote No On 2 Campaign has forged a powerful coalition of over 260 organizations representing millions of Floridians. And the most important part of our coalition is you. Especially now, we're going to need your continued participation in the struggle for justice and equality in Florida.

We are deeply disappointed tonight, but we will never give up. We'll keep fighting until every family in our state has the same benefits and protections. Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Nadine Smith
Executive Director, Equality Florida
Co-Chair, Fairness for All Families' Vote No On 2 Campaign

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." - Martin Luther King Jr.

*Source: State of Florida Department of Elections: http://enight.dos.state.fl.us/.
 
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