The Florida State Governor Ron Desantis is famously anti-LGBTQ+. From his “Don’t Say Gay” legislation alone, many people understand that he doesn’t approve of same-sex marriage or other activities. However, DeSantis took it up a notch recently when he claimed that same-sex marriage supporters are threats to religious institutions.
At CNN’s town hall meeting, anchor Kaitlan Collins asked the Governor how he feels about today’s marriage term. You have previously said that the definition of marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman. I’m curious, is that still how you feel today?” she asked.
DeSantis responded, saying his stance hadn’t changed, but he respected the Supreme Court’s decision. “So that’s just what marriage is with the church, and I respect the Supreme Court’s decision. We’ve abided by that in Florida even though our constitution defines it as between a man and a woman,” he said.
The decision DeSantis is referring to is the 2015 ruling that makes the US Constitution provide the same rights and responsibilities to marriage for same-sex couples as for different-sex couples. For almost nine years, the constitution has allowed LGBTQ+ to get married legally without having to hide like before.
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To no one’s surprise, the Governor quickly suggested that the 71% of anti and those who support same-sex marriage are a threat to traditional religion and society. Without a doubt, none of this has happened in the more than eight years since that Supreme Court ruling.
“I think what we need to recognize is you are going to have people try to wield power against our religious institutions and try to marginalize them simply by upholding the biblical definition of marriage,” DeSantis declared. In the political space, the Florida governor is not the only one who does not support same-sex marriage.
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However, the ratio of supporters to non-supported is almost even. Even GOP voters are tightly split in support of same-sex marriage. According to the famous Gallup survey in June 2023, “Republican support for gay marriage has hovered around the 50% mark since 2020 with slight majorities backing it in 2021 and 2022.
The latest 49% recorded for this group is statistically similar to Gallup’s level of support in recent years.” Therefore, DeSantis is just one of the Republicans who do not support same-sex marriage.
DeSantis also vowed to “protect those religious institutions to be able to do what has always been done in terms of how they consider marriage as a sacrament.”
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“So, in terms of the church, that’s just what it is. Now, in terms of the Supreme Court’s decision with civil law, you know, the state, we had a different policy, this is before I was Governor, and so the State of Florida’s respected that,” he concluded.
Many people believe DeSantis is using the members of the LGTBQ+ as “political pawns in his own quest for power.” Since becoming the Governor, he has been vocal about his stance, which might not change anytime soon.
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