US: Florida gays ask judge to allow same-sex weddings to begin tomorrow

Two gay men who last week won in their lawsuit to allow same-sex marriage in Florida Keys, have asked a judge to allow the marriages to commence tomorrow, despite an appeal by the Attorney General which halted the process.

The ruling by Circuit Judge Luis M Garcia, and came last week after a legal challenge to Florida’s same-sex marriage ban by six gay couples.

In an 11-page brief, attorneys acting for the two men, Aaron Huntsman and James Lee Jones, today asked Judge Garcia to lift the ban.

If Judge Garcia does so, marriage licences in Monroe County, where the ruling applied, can begin to be issued to same-sex couples on Tuesday.

Florida’s same-sex marriage ban was approved by voters in 2008, but the lawsuit argues that it violates same-sex couples’ guarantee of equal protection under the law, as dictated by the US Constitution.

Attorney general Pam Bondi, and supporters of the ban, argued that the amendment should be respected, because it was voter approved. Bondi argued that the state has the authority to define marriage there.

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• Dec 09 2023

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