Isabella Carter
In 2008, Florida Amendment 2 was passed, banning same-sex marriage in the state. This amendment was approved by 62% of voters, defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. However, in 2014 and 2015, several court rulings, including Brenner v. Scott, Pareto v. Ruvin, and Obergefell v. Hodges, struck down this amendment and legalised same-sex marriage in Florida. Despite these rulings, hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community persists in Florida, with efforts to ban discussions of LGBTQ+ topics in schools and books with LGBTQ+ characters. The ongoing legal and political debates surrounding same-sex marriage in Florida highlight the complex nature of this issue and the ongoing struggle for equality.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Amendment | November 4, 2008 |
| Voter Approval | 61.9% approved, 38.1% against |
| Number of Votes | 4,890,000 approved, 3,008,000 against |
| Amendment Name | Florida Marriage Protection Amendment |
| Amendment Description | Banned same-sex marriage |
| Court Ruling | Overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2015 |
| Court Ruling Name | Obergefell v. Hodges |
| Court Ruling Description | Ruled same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage |
| Number of Bills Proposed to Repeal Ban | 4 |
| Bill Proposers | Senator Gary Farmer, Representative David Richardson, Senator Tina Polsky, Senator Fabián Basabe |
| Bill Outcomes | All unsuccessful |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
Florida Amendment 2
However, the amendment faced significant legal challenges. In 2014, multiple judges, including Judge Luis Garcia of Florida's Sixteenth Circuit Court and Judge Sarah I. Zabel of the Florida 11th Circuit Court, ruled to overturn the ban and allow same-sex marriage in their respective counties. These rulings were appealed by the Attorney General of Florida, Pam Bondi, leading to a temporary stay on the decisions.
On August 21, 2014, in the case of Brenner v. Scott, Judge Robert Lewis Hinkle ruled that Florida's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional. This decision was also stayed pending appeal.
Finally, on January 6, 2015, same-sex marriage became legal in Florida. This was a result of multiple factors: Judge Hinkle's stay expired, the U.S. Supreme Court denied further extensions, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida ruled in Brenner v. Scott that the state's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional.
It is worth noting that there is a separate Florida Amendment 2, the Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment, which was approved in 2024. This amendment guarantees the right to hunt and fish in the state and positions these activities as the preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife. This amendment has faced criticism from wildlife conservation groups, who argue that it could harm wildlife populations and remove science from wildlife management decision-making.
Iraq's Constitution: Checks and Balances in Action
You may want to see also
The Respect for Marriage Act
In Florida, same-sex marriage has been legal since January 6, 2015, following a series of court rulings and challenges. The Respect for Marriage Act, signed into law by President Biden on December 13, 2022, provides further protections for same-sex and interracial marriages at the federal level.
The Act repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996, which barred the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, even if they were legal under state law. This resulted in the denial of various benefits for same-sex couples, such as Social Security and tax advantages. The Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor in 2013 struck down Section 3 of DOMA, ruling that the denial of federal recognition to same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.
The Act was introduced in response to concerns that the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, could lead to the reversal of other rights granted based on substantive due process, including the right to same-sex marriage established in Obergefell v. Hodges. The Respect for Marriage Act aims to protect these rights and ensure they remain part of federal statute law, even if future Court rulings question their constitutional basis.
While the Act provides important protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, it does not prevent states from restricting marriage to different-sex couples. If the Supreme Court were to overrule Obergefell v. Hodges or United States v. Windsor, same-sex marriage could become legally prohibited again in some states. However, there are strong legal arguments and considerations of fairness against retroactively invalidating existing same-sex marriages.
Jefferson's Constitution: Strict or Loose Interpretation?
You may want to see also
The Defense of Marriage Act
The Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Georgia Representative Bob Barr, a Republican, and in the Senate by Senator Don Nickles (R-OK). DOMA was a response to the 1993 Supreme Court of Hawaii ruling in Baehr v. Miike, which found that preventing same-sex couples from obtaining marriage licenses was sex discrimination. The House Judiciary Committee's 1996 Report stated that a redefinition of marriage in Hawaii to include same-sex couples could make such couples eligible for a wide range of federal rights and benefits. The Act's congressional sponsors stated that it:
> amends the U.S. Code to make explicit what has been understood under federal law for over 200 years; that a marriage is the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife, and a spouse... refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.
Supporters of DOMA believed that opposite-sex marriage was the only appropriate method for family formation and procreation. They argued that same-sex marriage could lead to alternative family formations and could even result in incestuous relationships and polygamous marriages. Opponents of the Act claimed that its definition of marriage was discriminatory on the basis of sex and equated homosexuality with incest and polygamy.
In 2013, in United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA's definition of marriage as only between one man and one woman. In 2015, in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court struck down the section of DOMA that allowed individual states to not recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Florida since January 6, 2015, as a result of a ruling in Brenner v. Scott from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
Senate's Constitutional Roots: Understanding Their Relationship
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The Florida Marriage Protection Amendment
On November 4, 2008, Florida voters approved Amendment 2, also known as the "Florida Marriage Protection Amendment", which amended the state's constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The amendment passed with 61.9% of voters in favour, amounting to 4,890,000 voters, while 3,008,000 voted against it.
The text of the amendment states:
> "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."
The approval of this amendment meant that same-sex marriages were not recognised in Florida, and the state's constitution effectively banned marriage equality. This amendment was challenged in court several times, with judges ruling that it made same-sex couples "second-class citizens".
On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This ruling nullified the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment and legalised same-sex marriage in all 50 states, including Florida. Despite this, hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community persists in Florida, with efforts to restrict the discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in schools and the presence of LGBTQ+ characters in library books.
Equality for All: The Constitutional Promise
You may want to see also
Brenner v. Scott
On February 28, 2014, civil rights attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed Brenner v. Scott on behalf of a Leon County, Florida, same-sex couple seeking to have their Canadian marriage recognized by the state. The plaintiffs, James Brenner and Charles Jones, were unable to designate each other as spouses in the state retirement benefits program because of Florida's non-recognition of and refusal to license same-sex marriages.
On March 16, 2014, a second couple, Steven Schlairet and Ozzie Russ, were added to the Brenner lawsuit. They had sought to obtain a marriage license from the Washington County Courthouse in Chipley, Florida, but the Clerk of Courts had refused to issue them one.
On August 21, 2014, Judge Hinkle issued a ruling in Brenner and Grimsley, granting the same-sex couple plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction and ruling that Florida's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional. He issued a temporary stay, postponing enforcement of the ruling, but ordered the state to recognize the marriage of the late Carol Goldwasser and plaintiff Arlene Goldberg and to revise the former's death certificate to reflect that marriage.
On January 1, 2015, Judge Hinkle clarified his order from Brenner v. Scott, stating that the U.S. Constitution requires that all Florida county court clerks issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The stay expired on January 5, 2015, after the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals declined to extend it, and enforcement of Florida's bans on same-sex marriage ended.
On February 4, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals put its same-sex marriage cases on hold until the Supreme Court ruled in pending cases. The state of Florida dropped its appeal in the Brenner v. Armstrong case, and on February 26, 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized in Florida. Despite this, the case was still awaiting a final injunction order from Judge Hinkle in the Northern District Court, which he issued on March 30, 2016.
Documents That Shaped the US Constitution
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
The Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, also known as Florida Amendment 2, was a ballot measure that passed with 61.9% of the vote in 2008. It defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This decision overturned bans on same-sex marriage in all 50 states, including Florida.
The Obergefell v. Hodges ruling effectively nullified Florida Amendment 2, rendering it unenforceable. While Florida Amendment 2 was not formally repealed, the Supreme Court's decision took precedence and same-sex marriage became legal in Florida.
Yes, there were several legal challenges to Florida Amendment 2 before the Obergefell v. Hodges decision. For example, in 2014, Broward County Circuit Judge Dale Cohen ruled that Florida's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples was unconstitutional. Additionally, multiple lawsuits for same-sex marriage rights were filed in Florida courts in 2014, and some local judges began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Florida since January 6, 2015, following the U.S. District Court's ruling in Brenner v. Scott, which found the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. This decision, along with the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, ensured that same-sex couples in Florida have the legal right to marry.
