Mitch PerryIn the wake of last year’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, Republicans in the Florida Legislature this year are backing a “Pastor Protection Act.” The bill would prevent clergy members from being forced to perform marriage ceremonies contrary to their principles.
On Wednesday, the Senate Rules Committee voted on a straight, 7-3 party line vote to approve the measure (SB 110), filed by Fernandina Beach Republican Aaron Bean. It now goes to the Senate floor for a vote.
“I’m optimistic that this bill will hopefully never be needed,” said Bean after the vote went his way. He said he couldn’t predict whether a member of the clergy would need to invoke the legislation to avoid marrying a same-sex couple, but then again, he said, he never could have predicted that “the Supreme Court would have redefined marriage.” He said the Texas Legislature had passed a similar law nearly unanimously, and he was sorry it was proving so divisive in the Florida Legislature. The Georgia House of Representatives unanimously passed a version of the law last week 161-0.
“It still goes back to the fundamental issue of the bill,” he insisted. “You shouldn’t be forced to marry who you don’t want to.”
Orlando Democrat Darren Soto had proposed an amendment to the bill that he passionately advocated would make Bean’s proposal better. The amendment would align the bill with existing Florida Civil Rights statutes by protecting clergy, houses of worship, and religiously affiliated organizations stipulated in statute.
Supporting Soto’s amendment was Carlos Guillermo Smith, the government affairs manager for Equality Florida and a candidate for the House District 49 seat.
“There are some very legitimate concerns and questions around the ambiguity of who would be covered, which entities would be covered,” he said. “Of course we support churches and clergy and houses of worship. Even broadened definitions actually to make sure that we are covering every religious entity which is what this strike-all does. That we are also covering lay people who may not necessarily be employed by the church who are performing a ministerial function. That is an improvement in this strike all language compared to the original bill.”
Guillermo Smith wrote to Florida Politics after this story posted to let us know that our original post may have left the impression that Equality Florida might have left the impression that it supports the expansion of SB 110. “That is definitely not true,” he writes.
The hearing was held in the Toni Jennings Committee Room, and was packed with supporters and opponents of the legislation, many of them clergy. Most supported the bill, though a handful of progressive religious officials said they opposed it.
Because so many people wanted to speak, Chairman David Simmons of Altamonte Springs limited public comment time, and most simply expressed support or opposition to both the Soto amendment and Bean’s bill.
No Republican said anything about the billl, but they all voted for it. The final tally was 7-3 on a party-line vote, with Democrats Audrey Gibson, Bill Montford and Soto opposing it.
The House version of the bill (HB 43), filed by Longwood Republican Scott Plakon is also moving along in committee.
