Florida same-sex marriage ban has been overturned by a Florida judge on Thursday. According to TIME, the ruling on the Florida same-sex marriage ban was made Thursday after six gay couples challenged the legality, stating that the Florida same-sex marriage ban rendered them second-class citizens.
The Thursday ruling was issued by Circuit Judge Luis M. Garcia, reports TIME. It however only applies to Monroe County, primarily covering the Keys, and will certainly be appealed.
According to the lawsuit which challenged the Florida same-sex marriage ban approved by voters in 2008, it contends that the ban violated the federal 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law. The judge said that licenses could be issued earliest Tuesday.
While gay couples are in opposition of the Florida same-sex marriage ban, Attorney General Pam Bondi and ban supporters are saying that the referendum vote should be respected. They also posit that Florida has singular authority in defining marriage in the state. According to TIME, the amendment which constituted Florida same-sex marriage ban defined marriage as only the union between one man and one woman.
The Associated Press reports that Garcia wrote in his decision on the Florida same-sex marriage ban, 'The court is aware that the majority of voters oppose same-sex marriage, but it is our country's proud history to protect the rights of the individual, the rights of the unpopular and the rights of the powerless, even at the cost of offending the majority. Whether it is ... when Nazi supremacists won the right to march in Skokie, Illinois, a predominantly Jewish neighborhood; or when a black woman wanted to marry a white man in Virginia; or when black children wanted to go to an all-white school, the Constitution guarantees and protects ALL of its citizens from government interference with those rights.'
According to the Guardian, apart from the Florida same-sex marriage ban win in Keys, gay marriage proponents have already won more than 20 legal decisions around the US since the supreme court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year. However, the AP said those rulings are still under various stages of appeal.
According to several legal experts, the US supreme court may ultimately have to decide the question for all states.
There are currently 19 states, including the District of Columbia, which have legalized same-sex marriage.
A recent hearing related to the Florida case in Miami-Dade County, gay couples' attorneys noted that following a long legal fight, the state has finally allowed them gay couples to adopt children. However, the state still refused to recognize them as married.
Florida same-sex marriage ban in Keys may be a win, but the battle still continues. Attorney Sylvia Walbolt said, 'That inequality stigmatizes the couples and their children as second-class citizens. Same-sex marriages are completely beneficial. They are entitled to the full protection of the Constitution.'
According to the Guardian, supporters of the Florida same-sex marriage ban, as well as gay marriage ban in general mainly focused on the 2008 referendum vote rather than whether same-sex marriages were harmful or beneficial.
Executive director of the Christian Family Coalition, Anthony Verdugo, said it was not appropriate for a single judge to overrule the will of a majority vote. Verdugo said, 'The people of the state have the right to decide.'
Along with the pending lawsuit of the Florida same-sex marriage ban, a separate lawsuit is also reportedly pending in a federal court in Tallahassee. The Tallahassee case seeks to force Florida in allowing gay marriage and recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
Apparently, Florida has been a common battleground over gay rights. The 1970s led to a successful campaign by singer and orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant. The campaign aimed to overturn a Dade County ordinance which banned discrimination against gays. However, the county commission reinstated the ban two decades later, reports the Guardian.
In 1977, Florida also became the only state prohibiting all gay people from adopting children. In 2008, a state court judge threw out the law after finding "no rational basis" for the ban. Two years later, the state decided not to appeal that ruling and ultimately decided on making gay adoption legal.
Florida same-sex marriage ban amendment overturned by Garcia Thursday passed through a 62-38 margin in 2008, banning both same-sex marriage and domestic partnerships.
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