Federal Judge: Florida's Ban on Gay Marriage Unconstitutional

A federal judge has joined a chorus of county judges in ruling that Florida’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle in Tallahassee came down Thursday, according to U.S. News. In the ruling, Hinkle said the 2008 voter-approved amendment that effectively banned same-sex marriage in the state violates the U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment. That amendment grants equal protection.

While Hinkle made the constitutional judgment, he stopped short of opening the floodgates for gay couples to apply for marriage licenses. He stayed the effect of his order, which gives those who might appeal time to do so.

“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,” Hinkle wrote in a 33-page ruling, according to ABC News. “To paraphrase a civil rights leader from the age when interracial marriage was struck down, the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Three Florida circuit court judges have ruled in a similar fashion in recent weeks. State Attorney General Pam Bondi has appealed those rulings.

Hinkle’s ruling allows time for an appeal of the federal case. The ruling was prompted by two lawsuits – one brought by same-sex couples seeking to marry in Florida and the other brought by couples who want to force the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where it is legal, ABC said.

See Also:

• State Ban on Gay Marriage Unconstitutional, 3rd Judge Says
• U.S. Rep. Jolly Announces Support of Gay Marriage
• Same-Sex Marriage: Supreme Court or Bust?
• Song Calls Out Florida Attorney General on Gay Marriage