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Florida making a spectacle of itself over gay marriage. County clerks caught in legal tug-of-war!
Florida could just let equality prevail as most other states have done, but no, TPTB in Florida like to think they are scoring points by making a mess of it all.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-gay-marriage-clerks-lawsuits-20141222-story.html
Florida's county clerks are stuck between a rock and a hard place – or in this case, legal advice and lawsuits.
On the one hand, the group's lawyers have said only Washington County's clerk can legally issue same-sex marriage licenses when the ban falls on January 6. On the other, LGBT rights groups on Monday threatened to sue any clerk who does not comply.
"I have no doubt there will be clerks issuing marriage licenses on Jan. 6," said Stratton Pollitzer, the deputy director of Equality Florida. "Clerks should not have to be dragged by their ears toward equality."
When other states have had their same-sex marriage bans lifted, the decision generally had immediate statewide implications. But two factors make Florida different and have thrown the process into confusion.
First, the appeals process has not yet concluded here. The ban on same-sex marriage is being lifted while the lawsuit that overturned the ban is still being heard in a federal appeals court.
And second, in what the clerks' lawyers called an "apparently unique" situation, Florida's ban on same-sex marriage includes criminal penalties for county clerks who process same-sex marriage licenses. In Florida, it's a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.
On the one hand, the group's lawyers have said only Washington County's clerk can legally issue same-sex marriage licenses when the ban falls on January 6. On the other, LGBT rights groups on Monday threatened to sue any clerk who does not comply.
"I have no doubt there will be clerks issuing marriage licenses on Jan. 6," said Stratton Pollitzer, the deputy director of Equality Florida. "Clerks should not have to be dragged by their ears toward equality."
When other states have had their same-sex marriage bans lifted, the decision generally had immediate statewide implications. But two factors make Florida different and have thrown the process into confusion.
First, the appeals process has not yet concluded here. The ban on same-sex marriage is being lifted while the lawsuit that overturned the ban is still being heard in a federal appeals court.
And second, in what the clerks' lawyers called an "apparently unique" situation, Florida's ban on same-sex marriage includes criminal penalties for county clerks who process same-sex marriage licenses. In Florida, it's a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.
