cityXtra Magazine

Miami-Dade Judge Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban

By David Vandygriff

Circuit Court Judge Sarah Zabel in Miami-Dade County said Florida’s ban violated the constitutional rights to due process and equal protection, as well as offended “basic human decency.” Florida’s attorney general quickly appealed the ruling.

“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,” she wrote.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a notice of appeal of the ruling within an hour of the ruling being issued.


Don Price Johnston, a 44-year-old plaintiff in the Miami lawsuit, said he was thrilled with the ruling and that he did not mind that it had been stayed for now.

“It’s not like we’re going to lose. We just have to wait,” he said. “I have been waiting for more than 25 years for this right. A few more months won’t kill me.”

Pareto and Karla Arguello were one of five gay couples who sued in Miami to overturn Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage. The couples claimed the ban on same-sex marriage violated the equal protection and due process clause, which Judge Zabel agreed with.

Aguello and Pareto didn't know the decision was coming down on Friday.

"We got a text, 'congratulations,' from one of our friends, and we're like, 'congratulations for what? What? What happened? Did we miss something?" Aguello told NBC 6.

"While it was hard to wait for it, it was well worth the wait," Pareto said.

The ruling also said that the Clerk of Courts should not be prosecuted for complying with the order and that the Clerk of Courts should modify marriage licenses to conform to the ruling.

Florida originally enshrined a ban on same-sex marriage in the state constitution in 2008. Voters approved an amendment that year banning same-sex marriage. Since then, the Supreme Court has overturned the Defense of Marriage Act at a national level and lower-level courts have repeatedly overturned state laws as appeals over state bans moves towards the U.S. Supreme Court.