Florida’s ban on gay marriage continues to come under judicial fire.
A Florida judge struck down the Sunshine State’s 2008 ban on same-sex marriage Friday, but the decision would only affect Miami-Dade County, according to the Associated Press. Miami-Dade is Florida’s most populous county, home to more than 2.6 million people as of 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Friday’s ruling came on the heels of another decision just last week in which a Florida judge overturned the same-sex marriage ban for Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys.
Judge Sarah Zabel stayed the ruling for Miami-Dade County indefinitely pending an appeal, and Florida Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a notice of appeal on Friday, according to the AP.
In the 11th Circuit Court ruling, Judge Zabel wrote, “Preventing couples from marrying solely on the basis of their sexual orientation serves no governmental interest. It serves only to hurt, to discriminate, to deprive same-sex couples and their families of equal dignity, to label and treat them as second-class citizens, and to deem them unworthy of participation in one of the fundamental institutions of our society.” Zabel predicted that eventually the term “same-sex marriage” would be “viewed in the same absurd vein as ‘separate but equal’ and is thus forsaken and supplanted by ordinary ‘marriage.’” If same-sex marriages are allowed to proceed in the state, Florida will become the 21st state where gay marriage is legal.
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