TALLAHASSEE
Floridians may be celebrating same-sex marriages by next year.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (AP archive)
It’s not a certainty. But a tidal wave of court decisions is building momentum for gay marriage evan as Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s fights to uphold the state’s ban.
Here’s one fact to remember: Nineteen federal courts now have rejected bans on same-sex marriages, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year.
The latest decision came from U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee. He found Florida’s constitutional ban against same-sex marriage violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment. He likened the series of federal court rulings to Civil Rights era cases that invalidated state bans on interracial marriages.
“Based on these decisions, gays and lesbians, like all other adults, may choose a life partner and dignify the relationship through marriage,” Hinkle wrote. “To paraphrase a civil-rights leader from the age when interracial marriage was first struck down, the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Hinkle’s ruling is the first federal court decision on Florida’s gay marriage ban. It follows four state court decisions – in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties. It joins close to 40 rulings in federal and state courts across the country that have overturned same-sex marriage bans.
The multitude of court rulings may be confusing. But what it means is that the issue is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which can take it up when it begins a new session in October, with a ruling sometime next year. The likeliest cases headed there are federal appellate cases upholding lower court decisions that overturned same-sex marriage bans in Utah and Virginia.
In Florida no same-sex couples will be getting married immediately. Hinkle stayed his decision, pending the ongoing appeals. The four state court decisions are also being appealed.
Bondi has been defending Florida’s same-sex marriage ban. But she said this week that the U.S. Supreme Court needs to resolve the issue “sooner rather than later.”
The legal landscape is complicated. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriages. The same-sex marriage bans in the other states have been put in doubt by the multitude of legal challenges.
“That’s the most efficient way,” Bondi said. “Ultimately this is going to be decided by the United States Supreme Court. What do we have happening now? We have somebody getting married in one state and they can’t get divorced in another. So the U.S. Supreme Court needs to decide this case.”
Bondi, who supports the same-sex marriage ban and noted nearly 62 percent of Florida voters endorsed it in 2008, said: “There are good people on both sides of this issue and we need to have finality for everyone involved.”
As gay rights groups anticipate a favorable ruling, conservative groups say they are determined to protect traditional marriages.
“The judge’s ruling negates marriage as identified in our state constitution and approved by nearly 62 percent of the electorate,” the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement following Hinkle’s decision.
“Despite this decision, we will continue to promote the truth of marriage, its foundational significance to society and its importance to children,” the bishops said. “We are hopeful that ultimately the courts will recognize the true nature and meaning of marriage.”
Some have criticized Bondi for continuing to defend Florida’s constitutional ban. “I took an oath when I became attorney general to defend the constitution of the state of Florida,” Bondi said. “It doesn’t matter what the issue is.”
And even if Bondi dropped her opposition, it’s not clear whether that would lead to a quicker resolution in Florida. In Virginia, state officials, including the attorney general, support allowing same sex marriages. But they agreed with delaying that decision until the U.S. Supreme Court makes a ruling, noting the legal chaos that could be caused if marriages were allowed but later invalidated.
But same-sex marriage supporters want Bondi and Gov. Rick Scott to take the issue to the Florida Supreme Court for a more immediate decision.
“A majority of Floridians support sharing marriage with committed LGBT couples,” said Rep. Joe Saunders, D-Orlando, one of Florida’s first openly gay state lawmakers. “Attorney General Bondi should stop appealing these rulings and get on the right side of history.”
WINNER OF THE WEEK: State pension. State officials reported the $149 billion state pension fund had a good year, with the investments growing by more than 17 percent in the fiscal year that ended in June. year. Lawmakers have debated plans to move more public workers out of the pension fund over the last two years, although the measures did not pass.
LOSER OF THE WEEK: David Rivera. The former congressman from Miami was identified in a court proceeding as a “conspirator” in a case where his former associate pleaded guilty to criminal campaign-finance violations. Rivera has not been charged in the case.
QUOTE OF WEEK: “I look forward to hearing what he is going to do. And I’m concerned that he might not do anything. He has a real task in front of him,” David Hastings, a climate scientist from Eckerd College said after meeting with Gov. Rick Scott to discuss climate change.
