MidwesternGro
Well-Known Member
(CNN) -- Gay and lesbian rights advocates continued their undefeated run Thursday when a federal judge ruled Florida's same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional -- though he didn't go so far to allow such marriages as to take place right away.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle noted in his ruling that his is now one of 19 federal courts that have struck down state laws that bar gay and lesbian couples from marrying. While most of the time those decisions were put on hold as appeals work their way through the system, they have all reached the conclusion.
Like those other judges, Hinkle said the Florida ban -- first put into law in 1977 and written into the state's constitution after a 2008 referendum -- violates the "due process" and "equal protection" provisions in the U.S. Constitution.
His ruling applies both to whether same-sex couples can marry in Florida as well as to whether such marriages elsewhere should be recognized in the Sunshine State.
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The state's top elected official, Gov. Rick Scott, has a different opinion.
His re-election campaign spokesman Greg Blair said Thursday that while Scott "respects the many views Floridians have on this issue, he believes in traditional marriage consistent with the constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2008."
"There are several cases going through the court system," Blair added, "and the governor respects that process."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/21/justice/florida-same-sex-marriage/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle noted in his ruling that his is now one of 19 federal courts that have struck down state laws that bar gay and lesbian couples from marrying. While most of the time those decisions were put on hold as appeals work their way through the system, they have all reached the conclusion.
Like those other judges, Hinkle said the Florida ban -- first put into law in 1977 and written into the state's constitution after a 2008 referendum -- violates the "due process" and "equal protection" provisions in the U.S. Constitution.
His ruling applies both to whether same-sex couples can marry in Florida as well as to whether such marriages elsewhere should be recognized in the Sunshine State.
::snip snip::
The state's top elected official, Gov. Rick Scott, has a different opinion.
His re-election campaign spokesman Greg Blair said Thursday that while Scott "respects the many views Floridians have on this issue, he believes in traditional marriage consistent with the constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2008."
"There are several cases going through the court system," Blair added, "and the governor respects that process."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/21/justice/florida-same-sex-marriage/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
