Same-sex marriage ban struck down for Miami area

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MIAMI (AP) — A Florida judge on Friday overturned the
state’s ban on same-sex marriage in a ruling that applies to Miami-Dade
County, agreeing with a judge in another county who made a similar
ruling last week. Still, no marriage licenses will be issued for gay
couples in either county any time soon to allow for appeals.
The
ruling by Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel mirrors the decision made earlier by
Monroe County Circuit Judge Luis Garcia. Both found the constitutional
amendment approved by Florida voters in 2008 discriminates against gay
people. They said it violates their right to equal protection under the
law guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
"Preventing
couples from marrying solely on the basis of their sexual orientation
serves no governmental interest," Zabel wrote. "It serves only to hurt,
to discriminate, to deprive same-sex couples and their families of equal
dignity, to label and treat them as second-class citizens, and to deem
them unworthy of participation in one of the fundamental institutions of
our society."
The effect of Garcia’s ruling was put on hold when
Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi filed notice of appeal. Zabel also
stayed the effect of her ruling indefinitely to allow time for appeals,
which could take months, and Bondi promptly followed up Friday by
filing an appeal notice in the Miami-Dade case. The county of 2.6
million people is in the top 10 in population in the U.S.
Both judges were appointed by former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and have been re-elected.
The
legal battleground will next shift to the Miami-based 3rd District
Court of Appeal for both cases, and most likely after that to the state
Supreme Court. Nevertheless, Friday’s ruling was cause for celebration
for gay couples across the Miami area.
"It means so much for a
court to recognize our family and say that we must be treated equally,"
said Catherina Pareto, one of the plaintiffs in the case. "We love this
state and want nothing more than to be treated as equal citizens who
contribute to the community and help make Florida an even better place
for everyone who lives here."
Same-sex ban supporters argue that
the referendum vote should be respected and that Florida has sole
authority to define marriage in the state. The Florida amendment defined
marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
Gay marriage
proponents have won more than 20 legal decisions around the country
since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down a key part of the
federal Defense of Marriage Act. Those rulings remain in various stages
of appeal. Many legal experts say the U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately
have to decide the question for all states.
Bondi said in a
statement about the Monroe County case that "with many similar cases
pending throughout the entire country, finality on this constitutional
issue must come from the U.S. Supreme Court."
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia allow gay people to marry.
Republican
Gov. Rick Scott has said he supports the amendment but opposes
discrimination. His top Democratic challenger, former Gov. Charlie
Crist, supports efforts to overturn it.
Florida has long been a
gay rights battleground. In the 1970s, singer and orange juice
spokeswoman Anita Bryant successfully campaigned to overturn a Dade
County ordinance banning discrimination against gays. The county
commission reinstated those protections two decades later.
In
1977, Florida became the only state prohibiting all gay people from
adopting children. A state court judge threw out that law in 2008,
finding "no rational basis" for that ban, and two years later, the state
decided not to appeal, making gay adoption legal.
Gay marriage
opponents said the rulings overturning the same-sex marriage ban
disenfranchise nearly five million voters — the 62 percent who approved
it nearly six years ago. Repealing the amendment would require at least
60 percent support.
"With one stoke of a pen, a mere trial judge
has attempted to overthrow an act of direct democracy by five million
Floridians who defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman,"
said John Stemberger, president Florida Family Policy Council, which
pushed for passage of the amendment.
The cities of Orlando, Miami
Beach and Key Biscayne filed legal papers supporting the gay couples’
quest to have the marriage ban ruled unconstitutional. A separate
lawsuit is pending in Tallahassee federal court seeking to both overturn
Florida’s gay marriage ban and force the state to recognize same-sex
marriages performed in other states.

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