The issue of same-sex marriage has been at the forefront of the American conscious for several decades now.
Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States, or SCOTUS, handed down a landmark ruling that essentially put the issue to rest one and for by declaring the right to marry to be a “fundamental right.”
By doing so, SCOTUS effectively banned individual states from enacting legislation or constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.
As a member of the LGBT community, or a supporter, you may be wondering that this point where can gay and lesbian couples get married?
The answer to that question is finally rather simple – anywhere. For decades, same-sex couples have been battling for the right to marry across the U.S. Starting in the early 1970s, states across the U.S. began to pass laws or constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying.
In 1996 the U.S. federal government stepped into the fray when the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, was passed in 1996.
DOMA defined marriage “as between a man and a woman.” As a result, even same-sex couple who were legally married outside the U.S. or in one of the few states that allowed same-sex marriage were denied recognition by the U.S. federal government. That denial of recognition effectively led to a denial of hundreds of benefits to which other married couples enjoyed by virtue of their status as married.
The next two decades saw case after case make its way through state and federal courts in an effort to have the DOMA definition of marriage declared unconstitutional. Eventually, that is precisely what happened. Not long after, SCOTUS was asked to decide the bigger issue – can a state ban same-sex marriage?
Fortunately for thousands of same-sex couples and their supporters, the high court’s answer was “no.”
Same-sex couples across America are now free to get married anywhere they wish. Of course, no court has the power to dictate how any specific religion views the issue of same-sex marriage. As a result, a minister, rabbi, priest, or other religious official may still refuse to perform a ceremony for a same-sex couple (or any other couple); however, the couple has the right to be legally married in the eyes of the State of Florida or any other state, as well as the eyes of the U.S. federal government. Therefore, anyone who is licensed to perform a wedding in Florida may marry a same-sex couple if the officiant chooses to do so.
If you have additional questions or concerns about the laws relating to gay and lesbian marriage, or other GLBT issues, contact the experienced Florida attorneys at Celler Legal, P.A. by calling 954-716-8601 to schedule your appointment.