TALLAHASSEE -- A constitutional prohibition against same-sex marriage was passed by Floridians Tuesday.

Three of the five other proposals before voters also got the required 60 percent.

Amendment 2 passed with 62 percent of the vote, gaining the three-fifths approval required for passage. Here's the count:

* Yes, 4,679,896

* No, 2,857,187

"We could not be more thrilled about the result of this decisive victory," said John Stemberger, state chairman of Yes2Marriage.org, the group behind the amendment. "Marriage is a universal social institution that must be protected from radical redefinition."

Near midnight, opponents conceded.

"I hope we can count on them to keep their word and not use the amendment to open the doors to a courthouse assault on existing rights and benefits," said Jon Kislak, chairman of Florida Red & Blue.

These are the results for the other amendments on Tuesday's ballot.

* Amendment 1 failed

This proposal would have stripped of parts of Florida's constitution that allows the Legislature to prohibit foreigners ineligible for citizenship from owning property.

Amendment 1 failed with 48 percent of the vote. Here's the count:

* Yes, 3,397,599

* No, 3,697,346

* Amendment 3 was passing in unofficial returns, though barely.

The amendment means property taxes can't go up with the addition of hurricane shutters or a solar water heater on a house -- for example. Any storm-hardening or renewable energy source would be exempt.

Amendment 3 got 60.4 percent approval. Here's the count:

* Yes, 4,144,825

* No, 2,716,536

* Amendment 4 passed

There will be tax breaks for more than 9.6 million acres of conservation land, either with a full exemption or assessed at current use.

Amendment 4 passed with 68 percent of the vote. Here's the count:

* Yes, 4,640,963

* No, 2,142,536

* Amendment 6 passed.

The amendment provides tax breaks for commercial fishers, marinas, boat builders and other working-waterfront operations.

Amendment 6 got the largest margin of support among the proposals decided Tuesday. The question got 70.5 percent of the vote. Here's the count:

* Yes, 4,745,577

* No, 1,985,048

* Amendment 8 failed.

This proposal would have given county voters the chance to levy a local-option sales tax to fund community colleges.

Amendment 8 got 43.5 percent of the vote,. Here's the count:

* Yes, 3,059,819

* No, 3,974,471

COMMENT:

RZekeFread wrote: 11/8/2008 3:17:27 PM

Amendment 2 is a giant step backwards in fighting bigotry, discrimination, intolerance, prejudice and equal civil rights for all Floridians. Have we learned nothing from the despicable treatment of Native and African Americans. To deny equal civil rights from anyone, group or minority is wrong. To see Floridians still embrace and support such ideals is devastating for all.

Florida's Constitution is intended to protect and preserve citizens rights. Never used to deny, prevent or strip existing rights from any of our citizens. The majority should never be permitted to dictate laws on a minority. This this is not democracy at it's best, it's anarchy at it's worse. What hurts most, is voter stats showed the oppressed became the oppressors, this directly lead to Amendment 2 passing.

So much for life, liberty, pursuit of happiness and enshrining religious beliefs into Florida's constitution. When domestic partners benefits and rights are stripped away, know your vote was responsible.