Gay marriage supporters in South Florida said the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional is a step in the right direction – and a call to action.
That’s because gay marriage is not recognized in the state of Florida, where voters approved a constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriages in 2008.
South Floridians reacted to the Supreme Court's rulings Wednesday, which overturned the federal Defense of Marriage Act and rejected the appeal of a California marriage ban.
"It's a great decision, but I just think that there's a lot of growth that Florida needs to overcome," said Melanie Alenier.
Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and sent advocates for equality into a frenzy of celebration. At North Straub Park in downtown St. Petersburg, some 100 members of the LGBT community and their allies rallied despite threatening weather. Among the crowd of purple shirts and rainbow flags, Stacy Blake, executive director of Community Tampa Bay compared the decision to a 1967 ruling that is responsible for her own marriage.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Floridians are celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic rulings striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act and paving the way to restore gay marriage in California — but said the victories are bittersweet.
By a 5-4 majority, the high court on Wednesday overturned DOMA, which has denied federal benefits to same-sex couples who are legally married in states that approve their unions. Florida is not one of them.
Wednesday was bittersweet for Florida supporters of marriage equality.
The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to overturn part of the Defense of Marriage Act, which had denied federal benefits to married same-sex couples. But the ruling did not address state laws that invalidate same-sex unions.
Florida has a state statute and an amendment to its constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and maintaining that same-sex marriages from other states are invalid.
TALLAHASSEE - Landmark Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage Wednesday won’t overturn Florida’s constitutional ban on such unions.
But the court’s decisions — negating the federal Defense of Marriage Act and upholding lower court rulings invalidating California’s constitutional ban — open the possibility of future legal challenges to Florida’s prohibition against same-sex marriages. Those decisions also signal growing momentum for change, even in states with conservative leaders like Florida.
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday, which ruled the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional prompted cheers outside the court in Washington, D.C., but the jubilation was subdued at Equality Florida's offices in Orlando.
The staff here is fighting to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage in the state of Florida.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In significant but incomplete victories for gay rights, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision of a federal law denying federal benefits to married gay couples and cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in California.
The justices issued two 5-4 rulings in their final session of the term. One decision wiped away part of a federal anti-gay marriage law that has kept legally married same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and pension benefits.
NEW YORK — Even as they celebrate a momentous legal victory, supporters of gay marriage already are anticipating a return trip to the Supreme Court in a few years, sensing that no other option but a broader court ruling will legalize same-sex unions in all 50 states.
In the meantime, as one gay-rights leader said, there will be “two Americas” — and a host of legal complications for many gay couples moving between them.
NEW YORK (AP) — Even as they celebrate a momentous legal victory, supporters of gay marriage already are anticipating a return trip to the Supreme Court in a few years, sensing that no other option but a broader court ruling will legalize same-sex unions in all 50 states.
In the meantime, as one gay-rights leader said, there will be "two Americas" — and a host of legal complications for many gay couples moving between them.
NEW YORK (AP) — Even as they celebrate a momentous legal victory, supporters of gay marriage already are anticipating a return trip to the Supreme Court in a few years, sensing that no other option but a broader court ruling will legalize same-sex unions in all 50 states.
In the meantime, as one gay-rights leader said, there will be "two Americas" — and a host of legal complications for many gay couples moving between them.
Miami (EE.UU.), 26 jun (EFE).- La organización Equality Florida llamó hoy, tras la decisión del Supremo de EE.UU. de invalidar la ley que define el matrimonio como la unión de un hombre y una mujer, a movilizarse en Florida y exigir a las autoridades que se reconozcan las bodas gais en este Estado.
In a highly anticipated ruling, the Supreme Court ruled the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.
The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, barring federal recognition of same-sex marriages for purposes such as Social Security survivors’ benefits, insurance benefits, immigration and tax filing.
TALLAHASSEE - Landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage Wednesday will not overturn Florida's constitutional ban on those unions.
LOS ANGELES. —With cheers, tears and kisses, gays and lesbians across the United States celebrated Wednesday’s historic Supreme Court decision in support of same-sex marriage, which provided cause for joy after years of protest.
Crowds turned out in gay capitals such as West Hollywood in California, San Francisco, South Miami Beach in Florida and the New York gay bar called the Stonewall Inn, seen as the birthplace of the gay rights movement.