US Judge Rules Florida Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional In 38th Federal Level Win

A U.S. judge today struck down Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, marking the 38th win at the federal level since June 2013 for marriage equality supporters.

U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle this afternoon struck down Florida’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. He immediately stayed his ruling with one exception. Same-sex couples still will not be able to yet marry in the Sunshine State.

Today’s is the fourth ruling in Florida in support of same-sex marriage. Three state judges have also ruled in support of marriage equality.

Our Founding Fathers, Judge Hinkle wrote in his ruling, sought “to secure the blessings of liberty to themselves and their posterity. Liberty has come more slowly for some than for others.”

Noting that today, “nearly 50 years” after “arguments supporting the ban on interracial marriage seem an obvious pretext for racism; it must be hard for those who were not then of age to understand just how sincerely those views were held. When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held, will again seem an obvious pretext for discrimination. Observers who are not now of age will wonder just how those views could have been held.”

The judge, who was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton in 1996, tossed out the State’s procreation argument. “Florida has never conditioned marriage on the desire or capacity to procreate.”

Justin Snow at MetroWeekly reports that in today’s case, the “stay will not apply to one of the plaintiffs — Arlene Goldberg. Goldberg married Carol Goldwasser, who died earlier this year, in New York in 2011.”

“There is one exception to the stay,” Hinkle wrote. “The exception is the requirement to correct Ms. Goldwasser’s death certificate. The correction is important to Ms. Goldberg. There is little if any public interest on the other side of the scale. There is no good reason to further deny Ms. Goldberg the simple human dignity of being listed on her spouse’s death certificate. Indeed, the state’s refusal to let that happen is a poignant illustration of the controversy that brings us here.”

Adam Polaski at Freedom To Marry explains that today’s “ruling is in Brenner v. Scott, which was consolidated earlier this year with Grimsley and Albu v. Scott. Grimsley and Albu v. Scott was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida on March 13, 2014 on behalf of SAVE, an LGBT organization in Miami and eight married same-sex couples seeking respect for their marriages legally performed in other states. Brenner v. Scott was filed by private counsel on March 6, 2014 on behalf of two same-sex couple who married and now live in Florida, where their marriages are not respected.”

Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida, issued this statement:

Today is the 5th consecutive victory in Florida and leaves no doubt that this ban serves no purpose but to harm gay couples and their children. We applaud Judge Hinkle for his decision and we call on Governor Scott to lead where Attorney General Pam Bondi has failed.

Florida put this discriminatory ban in place and Florida should end it. Our families have waited too long already. We call on Governor Scott to join us in urging the Florida Supreme Court to take up this issue immediately.

The complete ruling, thanks to Equality Case Files, is here:

 

Image: Stephen Schlairet and Ozzie Russ, Plaintiffs in Brenner v. Scott. Photo via Freedom To Marry