3-judge panel next step in same-sex marriage

SEAN KINNEY

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Marriage for same-sex couples in the Florida Keys will have to wait on a decision from a three-judge panel with the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami.

Monroe County Chief Circuit Court Judge Luis Garcia found the statewide ban on gay marriage—adopted by a majority vote in a 2008 referendum—unconstitutional in an opinion issued earlier this month.

When he made his decision on July 17, Garcia gave the Monroe County Clerk of the Court’s Office until July 22 to make preparations to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office immediately appealed Garcia’s decision to the Third DCA; the appeal invoked a stay on Garcia’s ruling.

Key West couple Aaron Huntsman and William Lee Jones, bartenders together more than a decade, sued Monroe County Clerk of the Court Amy Heavilin and Bondi on April 1, when their request for a marriage license at the clerk’s Key West office was denied.

On Monday, the couple’s Upper Keys attorney asked Garcia to lift the stay in an emergency motion.

Citing previous similar challenges, Garcia denied the emergency motion and said the stay would remain in place until an appellate decision is made.

The Third DCA has yet to set a hearing date, based on that court’s online docket.

But even if the appeal court upholds Garcia’s decision, Bondi’s office has already signaled that further appeals would follow.

Jenn Meale, communications director for the Florida Attorney General’s Office, said in a statement: “With many similar cases pending throughout the entire country, finality on this constitutional issue must come from the U.S. Supreme Court.”

In his opinion Garcia wrote: “The court is aware that the majority of voters oppose same-sex marriage, but it is our country’s proud history to protect the rights of the individual, the rights of the unpopular and the rights of the powerless, even at the cost of offending the majority.”

Stratton Pollitzer, deputy director of advocacy group Equality Florida, called for a quick resolution to the legal battle.

Pointing to Garcia’s ruling, “Every single day these couples are denied marriage licenses, their constitutional rights are violated, and they suffer harms and risk of harms, for which they can never be compensated.”

“Denying these couples access to marriage is a daily insult and a tremendous risk for their families,” Pollitzer said.

The Huntsman/Jones case is similar to action in Miami-Dade Circuit Court brought by six same-sex couples.

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