TALLAHASSEE -- Once it became evident that Amendment 2 would pass, the discussion and disappointment within the gay and lesbian community in Florida began.

"What really upsets me is the way they word amendments on ballots," said Florida State student Daniel Scarantino, who is a member Pride Student Union. "A lot of people will vote yes or no, and they will put an opinion to it without knowing what it's for. I'm a college sophomore. I did very well on the SAT and still a couple of the amendments left me puzzled."

Here is what voters in Leon County had to read before casting their vote on the issue: "This amendment protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and provides that no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

Though many who are active in causes that support the local gay and lesbian community were unsure what to expect Tuesday, the passing came as a slight surprise.

Joe Berg, oversees operations and events for The Family Tree, a community center for the local LGBT population. Berg said Tuesday's passing would reinforce concerns some within the LGBT community have about being open and honest about their sexual orientation without any repercussions.

"We're concerned (about) the message that it sends," said Berg, who is The Family Tree's first full-time staffer in the 12 years it's served Tallahassee. "Yes, we are hard working, patriotic, taxpaying Americans who contribute to our community. This sends a message that 'that's great, but somehow your contributions and taxes are not the same.'"

Florida is hardly the first state to pass an amendment or law banning gay marriage. To date, nearly 30 states have constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage and/or other types of same-sex unions.

The argument Berg and Scarantino and David Grimes are making is that the amendment will have a greater impact beyond the GLBT community because gay marriage is already banned in Florida. Grimes said similar amendments and laws in other states have weakened domestic partnerships, civil unions and domestic violence laws.

Grimes is a first-year law student at FSU, who said he would have considered attending law school in another state had Amendment 2, or something similar, passed last year while he was still an undergraduate.

"At this point it's already passed," Grimes said. "I really don't want it to become divisive. A lot of people are upset it passed. You can't work to make progress if we're all still mad at each other."