Aaron Huntsman and William Lee Jones have been together 11 years. The couple’s suit is one of three that is currently making its way trough Florida’s judicial system in the fight for marriage equality.
In his ruling issued July 17, 2014 regarding the couple’s right to marry, Monroe County Circuit Judge Luis Garcia stated, “This court is aware that the majority of voters oppose same-sex marriage, but it is our country’s proud history to protect the rights of the individual, the rights of the unpopular and the rights of the powerless, even at the cost of offending the majority. Whether it’s the NRA protecting our right to bear arms when the City of Chicago attempted to ban handguns within its city limits; or when nazi supremacists won the right to march in Skokie, Illinois a predominantly Jewish neighborhood; or when a black woman wanted to marry a white man in Virginia; or when black children wanted to go to an all-white school, the Constitution guarantees and protects ALL of its citizens from government interference with those rights.”
Beginning Tuesday, same sex couples in Monroe County, Florida will be able to marry. Although this ruling is only for that of Monroe County, the precedent it sets for future decisions in Florida is undeniable.
“The court holds that the plaintiffs have established animus by the proponents of FMPA and that the plaintiffs have also established that there is no rational basis for the unequal treatment of homosexuals by FMPA and Florida Statute 741.04(1),” Judge Luis Garcia.