'Don't Say Gay' bill amendment to make schools out stunts pulled

Contents:

• GAY, LBIAN, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR, QUEER ROURC
• GAY MARRIAGE
• WHAT IS THE FLORIDA LAW REGARDG GAY MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE?
• LAWMAKER BEHD FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL PULLS AMENDMENT REQUIRG SCHOOLS TO OUT STUNTS
• GAY MARRIAGE FLORIDA – LEGAL OR NOT?
• FREQUENTLY ASKED QUTNS ABOUT THE FERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT AND GAY MARRIAGE

GAY, LBIAN, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR, QUEER ROURC

Supreme Court's landmark cisn Friday relegat Florida's gay marriage ban to the bwebbed rners of urt's lg brgs closure to a yearslong battle between same-sex upl seekg the right to marry and to have their out-of-state marriag regnized, and the state's Republin lears, who have fought at every turn.

GAY MARRIAGE

Although gay marriage beme legal Florida January, has remaed on appeal to the 11th U. Circu Court of Appeals Atlanta, wag for the Supreme Court to ci whether gay upl had the right to marry ban "is ad, " said Elizabeth Whe, a Jacksonville civil rights attorney who helped brg one of the s that led to a feral judge's cisn last year strikg down the state's same-sex marriage ban.

"The urt's 5-4 lg that all gay marriage bans are unnstutnal bookends s of tirels activism natnally and Florida, where lawmakers have passed some of the untry's tought antigay laws and where Ana Bryant's csa agast homosexuals the 1970s ma her a natnal celebry for the relig right.

Although attus toward gay men and lbians have shifted rapidly across the Uned Stat, Florida's legislature remas eply divid.

WHAT IS THE FLORIDA LAW REGARDG GAY MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE?

A few months ago, Tallahassee lawmakers voted to repeal the state's 30-year ban on adoptns by same-sex upl, but also nsired a measure allowg private adoptn agenci to reject would-be parents who are gay. "Reactn om gay rights advot arrived swiftly and joyoly, as many celebrated the certaty that gay marriage Florida would rema a legal right.

District Court gay marriage opponents predicted the lg would spire public backlash, jt as the urt's 1973 cisn Roe vs. "It's very nfg why they want to let gays be happy.

LAWMAKER BEHD FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL PULLS AMENDMENT REQUIRG SCHOOLS TO OUT STUNTS

… We n't say that gays are gog to be wele to e here and get married. Petersburg, passed domtic partnership registri, the state ban cut off gay upl om many of the fancial and legal rights of beg recently, many gay upl livg Florida who were married other stat uld not get divorced.

District Judge Robert Hkle led Florida's gay marriage ban unnstutnal and rejected Bondi's requt that he lay his cisn om takg effect while she appealed. 6, Florida beme the 36th state to allow gay Whe, who was born and raised Florida, the fact that state's marriage ban fell six months before the Supreme Court terced is a victory on s own. "• • •Yet many months after gay marriage beme legal here, not everyone readily accepts as the new realy.

GAY MARRIAGE FLORIDA – LEGAL OR NOT?

Immediately after Florida's marriage ban fell, more than a dozen clerks of urt, many of them the most nservative regns of the state, chose to stop holdg marriage ceremoni for anyone, rather than perform them for gay upl. In most of the Panhandle and parts of Central Florida, same-sex upl who wish to marry n get marriage licens om clerks, but have no choice but to fd their own is still the policy Pas County, where the clerk of urt has said that most of her staff who oversee marriage licens are "unfortable" officiatg same-sex state agenci, such as the Bure of Val Statistics, have rpond to the legalizatn of gay marriage wh burecratic lethargy.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUTNS ABOUT THE FERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT AND GAY MARRIAGE

Although hundreds of gay upl have married Florida, the bure still prts marriage licens wh the words "bri" and "groom. " Gay upl have also n to difficulty when tryg to have their marriag regnized on birth and ath legal experts said the Supreme Court's cisn will likely force slow-movg or reluctant agenci to regnize upl' unns. "There have been some enti that have been wag to implement full marriage equaly all aspects until there was a more, their md, fal lg, " said Elizabeth Schwartz, an attorney who sued on behalf of gay upl Miami-Da to overturn the same-sex marriage ban.