Wedding bells chime out with joy as same-sex couples are given the rights they deserve!
Six years ago, Florida banned same-sex marriage due to a disheartening 62 per cent vote. Now wedding bells are finally chiming out with joy, as same-sex couples are given the rights they deserve!
In late 2014 Judge Hinkle ruled that Florida’s outlawing of same-sex marriage violated the equal protection and due process requirements of the federal Constitution. This resulted in the ban being lifted in early 2015, bringing the New Year in with a very good start; with Florida becoming the 36th state to rectify their laws (only 14 states to go!). Shannon Minter, Legal Director of NCLR states that the “ruling confirms that all Florida officials, including county clerks, must comply with the federal Constitution and must therefore treat same-sex couples equally under the law by issuing marriage licenses to qualified same-sex couples and by treating their marriages equally in all respects”.
At 3am Tuesday morning, 20 gay and lesbian couples, eager to finally wed, were married at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale in a five-minute ceremony. They agreed to take each other as spouses for life, making the starts of their lives together and also the start of a brighter and more equal future for all same-sex couples in Florida.