Every year, state legislators flock to Tallahassee with grand plans for all the new laws they say are needed. But sometimes, it’s better to do the opposite and wipe away legalese that’s obsolete, meaningless and hurtful.
Such an opportunity awaits lawmakers in the annual session that begins March 7.
Despite the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage among Americans and President Joe Biden’s signing in December of a federal marriage equality law, same-sex marriage remains illegal under Florida law and its constitution.
Florida Statute 741.212 reads in part: “Marriages between persons of the same sex entered into in any jurisdiction, whether within or outside the State of Florida, the United States, or any other jurisdiction ... are not recognized for any purpose in this state.”
The three-paragraph section concludes: “The term ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the term ‘spouse’ applies only to a member of such a union.”
Passed in 1997 as House Bill 147, it was intended to prevent Florida from recognizing same-sex unions in other states at a time when Hawaii was the only state with such plans. Most Floridians strongly opposed what was then called gay marriage.
The law was bolstered by a 2008 constitutional amendment restricting marriage to one man and one woman. But attitudes were changing, and support for gay marriage growing.
Nonsensically, it remains there to this day, even though polls show more than two-thirds of Americans now approve of same-sex marriage. It remains even though it has been more than eight years since U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle struck down Florida’s same-sex marriage ban.
Sen. Tina Polsky, a Boca Raton Democrat, has filed a bill, SB 80, for the upcoming session to repeal the 1997 law. Lawmakers should also give voters a chance to undo the 2008 amendment.
“It makes no sense for us to have a statute on the books that is completely illegal under federal law,” Polsky told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board.
She’s not the only one to propose repealing the law. But this year, it needs to happen.
It will not be easy. Republican leaders of the Senate and House fear being vilified as supporters of LGBTQ rights — even in what is supposedly “the freest state in America,” as Gov. Ron DeSantis would have us believe.
Public opinion on this subject has shifted dramatically, and for the better, too. But politicians have not kept pace with the times. Hatred and homophobia endure in our state, and they have no place in the laws of our land.
Polsky’s problem is that Republicans fear a recorded roll call vote to repeal the same-sex marriage ban can easily be repurposed into a “vote for gay marriage” with far more sinister connotations in a consultant’s hands.
Social conservatives have a very firm foothold in today’s Tallahassee. The Orlando-based Florida Family Policy Council is organizing its annual “Pro-Family Days” at the Capitol in late March. “As you know,” the group’s website says, “the LGBT+ activists are coming after our children in public and private schools and they are not even hiding it anymore. The indoctrination ranges from subtle to in your face.”
The 1997 law passed overwhelmingly. Only a few lawmakers were courageous enough to say that a ban on same-sex marriage was an act of intolerance that reflected poorly on Florida and its people.
By 2008, support for gay marriage had grown. The constitutional amendment came within two points of failing. And today, every poll shows that an overwhelming percentage of Americans now oppose restrictions on same sex unions.
Less than 24 hours after the massacre at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, Lin-Manuel Miranda accepted his Tony award with a sonnet that summed up that evolution:
"This show is proof that history remembers. We lived through times when hate and fear seemed stronger; we rise and fall and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer. And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love ... cannot be killed or swept aside."
Lawmakers, let love be love. Erase this law.
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