Yesterday Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Diana Lewis became the fourth judge in Florida in the past few weeks to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage in a single county. All four have found that the 2008 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage violates gay residents' rights to equal protection under the 14th Amendment. Attorney General Pam Bondi has filed a notice of appeal in the first two counties where the law was overturned — Monroe and Miami Dade. (On Monday the ban was ruled unconstitutional in Broward County.)
Some have wondered why the ban has only been struck down in specific counties vs. the entire state, but that has been the case in most other places around the country, recently in Utah and Oklahoma. A lawsuit has been filed in North Florida against the federal ban; that comes from same-sex couples who were married in other states and want their unions to be recognized here.
The big question is if and when the Florida Supreme Court will get involved.
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Attorneys have requested that the Miami Dade & Monroe cases be bundled and challenged at the Supreme Court level, but Bondi has yet to respond to that request. The next court to which appeals from a circuit court case in South Florida would be the 3rd District Court of Appeals. However, that court would have to agree to cede the case to the Supreme Court first.
Again, Bondi has been mum. There's no question that the case will eventually go to the state Supreme Court. The only question is when. At that point the question then becomes how do they rule? Based on what seemingly every court around the country has decided, the odds are solid that the ban on same-sex marriage will soon be a thing of the past in the state that brought you Anita Bryant.
In other news…
Charlie Crist unveiled his "Fair Shot Florida" plan for the middle class yesterday in South Florida, Although his plans to raise the minimum wage and expand Medicaid sound good, what are the odds he'll be able to convince a very conservative state Legislature to follow his lead?
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn says the city will investigate the possibility of creating a "quiet zone" in areas where CSX trains travels — loudly — in the middle of the night.
April Griffin has cut quite a figure for herself over the past eight years on the Hillsborough County School Board. Now she wants four more years to make things right inside the district.