UPDATED: Judge strikes down Florida’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage
Source: Reuters
By Reuters
Thursday, July 17, 2014 15:09 EDT
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Circuit Judge Luis Garcia, whose jurisdiction includes the Florida Keys, ordered the Monroe County Clerk of Court to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples next Tuesday. Garcia ruled in favor of a same-sex couple seeking to marry, saying Florida’s gay marriage ban violated their rights to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution.
He acknowledged that the majority of Florida voters opposed same-sex marriage and had voted in favor of the state’s 2008 constitutional amendment.
“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.
He compared the right of same-sex couples to marry to the National Rifle Association’s protection of the right to bear arms and the push by Nazi supremacists to march in a Jewish neighborhood, as well as interracial marriage and school integration. “The Constitution guarantees and protects ALL of its citizens from government interference with those rights,” Garcia said.
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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/17/judge-strikes-down-floridas-voter-approved-ban-on-same-sex-marriage/
Court Rules in Favor of Marriage Equality in Florida
(Miami, FL, July 17, 2014)—Today, a state trial court in Monroe County issued a decision striking down Florida’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples and ordering Monroe County to allow same-sex couples to marry. The Court’s order provides that the Monroe County Clerk can begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on July 22, 2014.
The case was brought by Key West residents Aaron Hunstman and William Lee Jones. They are represented by Bernadette Restivo of the law firm Restivo, Reilly & Vigil-Farinas LLC.
On July 7, 2014, Judge Luis Garcia, Monroe County Circuit Court heard oral argument in the case. The couples argued that Florida’s ban on marriage equality cannot stand in light of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2013 that the federal “Defense of Marriage Act” violates the federal constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process.
Every court to consider these federal constitutional claims since last summer’s Supreme Court decision has ruled in favor of the freedom to marry, including federal and state courts in Utah, Ohio, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Said Nadine Smith, CEO, Equality Florida Institute: “This is a monumental step forward for Florida. Today’s historic ruling affirms what the majority of Florida residents already know to be true: All couples and their families deserve to be treated equally by their government.”
Media Contacts:
Bernadette Restivo Esq.
Attorney at Law
Restivo, Reilly & Vigil-Farinas LLC
103400 Overseas Highway, Suite 237
Key Largo, FL 33037
305-453-4961 TEL bernadette@restivoandreilly.com
Equality Florida:
Sharon Kersten, 954.314.7288 (office), 305.458.3639 (cell), sharon@EQFL.org
Sue Hoffman, 727.667.8188 (office), Sue@EQFL.org
Information for Florida couples seeking to marry in Florida: http://www.eqfl.org/marriagefaq
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http://www.eqfl.org/lovewins
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Response to DonViejo (Original post)
Awesome News!
Florida Rocks~
Any takers?
Sorry I just never had the chance or thought I would ever get the chance to ever say that. 
Bill on the show was definitely a catch!
Bill & Bill. I like that!
And yes I get all the different meaning in you post. 
Have you seen this crap?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025252653
But I will take a look at it.
