Six same-sex couples in Florida are making their voices heard by filing a lawsuit against the state of Florida. They join 40 other states where same-sex marriage lawsuits are pending.
The six couples filed the lawsuits Tuesday morning in Miami Beach, claiming Florida’s marriage ban violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and due process.
They are seeking to overturn Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, which is something voters put in the state Constitution in 2008.
Equality Florida and the National Center for Lesbian Rights are the groups filing on behalf of the couples.
“This is the first time anything like this has ever happened,” said Michael Farmer, the statewide field director for Equality Florida. “We’re the first state in the deep South to file a lawsuit like this so it’s certainly a big deal.”
Similar suit claims have been made in other states. Many of those judges have struck down gay marriage bans as discriminatory.
“These people are loving, committed couples who just want the same rights and responsibilities as everybody else,” Farmer said. “They want to be able to protect their families and they want to be able to know that their home in Florida recognizes their relationship.”
Currently, 17 states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage. Attorneys for the six gay couples said they believe public opinion is different now in the state than it was in 2008, and judges are increasingly concluding the laws are unconstitutional.
A spokesperson for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said she has not seen the lawsuit.