Same-sex marriage in Florida

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Florida since January 6, 2015, as a result of Brenner v. Scott, the lead case on the issue. In this case, a U.S. district court ruled the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional on August 21, 2014. The order was stayed temporarily; state attempts at extending the stay failed, with the U.S. Supreme Court denying further extension on December 19, 2014.

Furthermore, a state court ruling in Pareto v. Ruvin allowed same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses in Miami-Dade County on the afternoon of January 5, 2015. In another state case challenging the state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples, a Monroe County court in Huntsman v. Heavilin stayed enforcement of its decision pending appeal and the stay expired on January 6, 2015.

The state banned same-sex marriage by statute in 1977 and added a prohibition on the recognition of marriages from other jurisdictions in 1997. Voters approved an amendment that banned both same-sex marriage and civil unions in 2008. The state also imposed criminal penalties on any court clerk to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple.

In 1977, following the success of the Save Our Children campaign in overturning a gay-rights ordinance in Miami, the state enacted legislation banning same-sex marriage as well as adoption by homosexuals. State Senator Curtis Peterson, sponsor of the legislation, said it was designed to say "we are tired of you and wish you would go back in the closet."

In 1997, the Florida Legislature overwhelmingly adopted its own Defense of Marriage Act, which states marriage is the "union between one man and one woman" and bars the state from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states. Governor Lawton Chiles said: "I believe that, by and large, most Floridians are tolerant and will one day come to view a broader range of domestic partnerships as an acceptable part of life. But, that is not the case today." The bill became law without his signature.

According to a legal opinion provided to the Florida Court Clerks' Association in December 2014 in anticipation of an injunction in the case of Brenner v. Scott, a clerk who grants a marriage license to a same-sex couple faces criminal penalties, a legal provision it called "apparently unique" to Florida. Penalties can include fines as high as $1,000 and up to a year in prison.

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Wikipedia