Dec 12, 2008  |  By: JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ  | COMMENTS     

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — When Gov. Charlie Crist legally weds his longtime girlfriend Carole Rome today, St. Petersburg’s First United Methodist Church will be packed with cheering family members, friends and the most inside of Florida insiders.

And outside the church, in nearby Williams Park, hundreds of supporters of same-sex marriage rights also will cheer the governor and his bride. But it will be a double-edged celebration.

“We want to say, ‘Congratulations governor. When can I get married?’” said Lorna Bracewell, a spokesperson for Impact Florida, a grassroots activist group coordinating the protest.

Impact Florida is a chapter of Join the Impact, a national movement formed by gay activists when state amendments banning same-sex marriage passed last month in California, Arizona and Florida.
Bracewell, a singer and songwriter, lives in Indian Rocks, Fla., with her partner of three years. She said the two would love to wed.

“We’re very much in favor of marriage,” Bracewell said. “We’d just like that opportunity available to all Floridians regardless of gender or sexual orientation.”

The governor’s wedding, she said, presents a “perfect opportunity” for same-sex marriage supporters to point out the injustice and hypocrisy of Florida’s marriage laws.

“His decision to support Amendment 2 [the state’s ban on same-sex marriage] and his failure to speak out against it does represent his dropping the ball,” she said. “As the governor, he’s supposed to be there, ensuring that the rights of all Floridians are protected.”

Crist announced his support of the anti-gay marriage measure in August after first saying he had a neutral, “live and let live” attitude about the issue. He had also ordered the state’s Republican Party to stop funding Florida4Marriage.com, the chief proponents of the measure.

His conflicting statements, combined with lingering rumors about his sexual orientation, made Crist an ironic central figure in the gay marriage debate.

Perhaps in part to quash the rumors, Crist announced in July his plan to marry Rome. The revelation came as the bachelor governor was widely seen as being on Republican presidential hopeful John McCain’s short list of candidates for vice president. But McCain went on to choose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

With the election over, the wedding is still on and Rome has gushed about feeling blessed because of her love for Crist.

Bracewell said demonstrators at today’s wedding plan to form a candlelight vigil near the entrance to the reception site, Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg.

Impact Florida has asked demonstrators to wear pink shirts in recognition of the wedding’s theme. They want it to be “a festive occasion,” Bracewell said.

The state organization’s first demonstration was Nov. 15, during a national day of protests against the passage of Proposition 8 in California. The measure stripped away the rights of same-sex couples to wed. More than 400 people attended the Nov. 15 protest in St. Petersburg, and Bracewell said she hopes to see double that number for the wedding demonstration.

“Our ultimate goal is to see Amendment 2 repealed,” Bracewell said. “We know one demonstration is not going to accomplish the goal. But our goal is to be visible to let them see whose lives are being affected by Amendment 2.”