Judge overturns gay marriage ban in Florida Keys

[J.R.E.]

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2014/7/17/fl_gay_marriage_ban_.html

MONROE COUNTY --

A judge in the Florida Keys overturned the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage on Thursday after a legal challenge by gay couples said it effectively made them second-class citizens.

The ruling by Circuit Judge Luis M. Garcia applies only to Monroe County, which primarily consists of the Keys, and will certainly be appealed. The lawsuit contended that the same-sex marriage ban approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2008 violated the federal 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law. The judge said licenses could not be issued until Tuesday at the earliest.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and ban supporters argued that the referendum vote should be respected and that Florida has sole authority to define marriage in the state. The Florida amendment defined marriage solely as a union between one man and one woman.

"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," Garcia wrote in his decision. "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."

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist praised the ruling in a statement Thursday.

"Today was a great step towards equality in Florida," said Crist. "It is my hope that Governor Scott and Attorney General Bondi will accept the decision of the judge and allow all Florida adults to marry the person they love."

Gay marriage proponents have won more than 20 legal decisions around the country since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year, although 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.

Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage.

During a recent hearing on a related Florida case in Miami-Dade County, attorneys for gay couples noted that, after a long legal fight, the state finally allowed them to adopt children but refused to recognize them as married.

"That inequality stigmatizes the couples and their children as second-class citizens," attorney Sylvia Walbolt said. "Same-sex marriages are completely beneficial. They are entitled to the full protection of the Constitution."

Supporters of the gay marriage ban focused mainly on the 2008 referendum vote rather than whether same-sex marriages were harmful or beneficial. Anthony Verdugo, executive director of the Christian Family Coalition, said it was wrong for a single judge to overrule the will of a majority vote.

"The people of the state have the right to decide," Verdugo said.

Along with the similar lawsuit pending in Miami-Dade, a separate lawsuit is pending in a federal court in Tallahassee seeking to force Florida to allow gay marriage and recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Florida has long been a battleground over gay rights. In the 1970s, singer and orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant led a successful campaign to overturn a Dade County ordinance that banned discrimination against gays. The county commission reinstated the ban two decades later.

Florida in 1977 became the only state that prohibited all gay people from adopting children. A state court judge threw out the law in 2008 when she found "no rational basis" for the ban when she approved the adoption of two young brothers by Martin Gill and his male partner. The state decided two years later not to appeal that ruling, making gay adoption legal.

The amendment Garcia overturned Thursday was passed by a 62-38 margin in 2008 and banned both same-sex marriage and domestic partnerships.

[J.R.E.]

UPDATE from yesterday !


http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2014/7/25/miami_court_rules_in.html


“Today's ruling is a victory for thousands of couples who have been denied access to marriage. It is a victory for children who have longed for the day when their families would be respected equally under the law. And it is a victory for all Floridians who share the values of fairness and equality under the law. We applaud Judge Zabel for her decision. No matter the legal path ahead, we will continue to fight until the day we all have the right in Florida to marry the person we love."

[mitch777]

I'm a bit confused here. Are these lawsuits limited to just the county they were filed in?

[tednlou2]

Brian and I were confused on this, too.  State judges can rule on specific counties?  In all the states with rulings thus far, a state judge could have made the decision first?  Which surely would have been appealed to the federal level.  So, they just decided not to waste time and energy with state judges, and just go right to federal? 

I thought there was a process-- you had to first go to the state, and then on to federal.  I suppose since the argument is about the 14th amendment's guarantee of equal protection, the federal courts were the place to go anyway?

So, yes, we have been confused and learning about the all the federal cases and how they move forward.  This state judge ruling on one county made us more confused. 

[J.R.E.]

I'm a bit confused here. Are these lawsuits limited to just the county they were filed in?

  your not alone, I am confuzled as well !

On the Monroe county case, Pam Bondi ( The attorney General and bigot) for the state of Florida, put the brakes on that ruling, to prevent any marriage from taking place.

Within an hour of Friday's ruling she once again put the brakes on  and filed notice of appeal.  I wonder if she will do this for every county 

Here's another clip :


http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Miami-Dade-Judge-Rules-in-Favor-of-Gay-Marriage-268659482.html

[J.R.E.]

A little bit more on these rulings:


http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2014/7/26/are_appeals_against_.html

Are appeals against same-sex marriage a stall tactic?


 By Bailey Myers, Reporter
Last Updated: Sunday, July 27, 2014, 6:05 AM

ORLANDO --

Less than two weeks after a South Florida judge ruled against Florida's same-sex marriage ban, another judge followed suit, declaring same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

But that doesn't necessarily mean same-sex couples will be able to marry anytime soon.

Right after these two judges released their decisions Attorney General Pam Bondi filed an appeal motion; which automatically puts everything on pause until a higher court makes a final decision.

But activists both for and against same-sex marriage have said they plan on following through until the very end.

“We are about to head to the appellate level and we think we will win there. If we have to take it to the Florida Supreme court then we will and we expect that we will win on that level as well,” said Michael Farmer, spokesman for Equality Florida.

At the court of appeals Attorney General Pam Bondi will make a case as to why Judge Luis Garcia and Judge Sarah Zabel were wrong in ruling Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
Floridians voted to pass this marriage definition back in 2008. It states “marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman.”

A definition some activists think needs to change.

“Sooner rather than later we are going to get a court ruling that legalizes the right for couples to marry each other who are in a loving and committed relationships statewide,” said Farmer.

But opponents say a trial court judge doesn’t have the right to overturn an amendment Floridians have voted on themselves.

The Florida Family Policy Council’s President, John Stemberger issued a statement Friday that said in part, “It is fiction to think that Florida’s marriage laws have somehow been declared finally unconstitutional by the local rulings of mere local trial judges.”

[mitch777]

They just want to keep their bible thumping gay hating voters hyped up as long as possible by delaying the inevitable.

[Jeff G]

They just want to keep their bible thumping gay hating voters hyped up as long as possible by delaying the inevitable.

Its all about going on record for them even though they now know they will lose in the end and that to me is even more hateful and despicable . Its pandering at its worst and also a waste of tax payers money ... not very conservative .

There are a few case coming up in Alabama but I can't seem to find out when it will be heard .

[J.R.E.]

Pam Bondi ( Florida AG) and Ric Scott (GOV) need to be thrown out of office :

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2014/07/8_reasons_pam_bondi_is_the_worst_attorney_general_in_florida_history_draft.php