Gay marriage supporters in Florida are
looking for plaintiffs for a potential lawsuit challenging the
state's ban.
In an e-mail to supporters, Equality
Florida, the state's largest LGBT rights advocate, cited two recent
Supreme Court rulings related to marriage equality in announcing its
decision to move forward.
“After consulting with state and
national legal experts on the scope of the Supreme Court decision and
the impact it may have for state constitutional bans, Equality
Florida is reaching out to potential plaintiffs for a lawsuit in
Florida,” the group wrote.
Last week's decisions opened the door
for same-sex marriages to resume in California and struck down a law
that prohibited federal benefits for legally married gay couples.
The group noted that Justice Antonin
Scalia in his dissent warned that the ruling would fuel additional
challenges.
“By formally declaring anyone opposed
to same-sex marriage as an enemy of human decency, the majority arms
well every challenger to a state law restricting marriage to its
traditional definition,” Scalia wrote in a scathing rebuke of the
majority's decision.
Last month, Equality Florida launched
an awareness campaign to win marriage rights for gay and lesbian
Florida couples.
(Related: Florida
activists launch campaign to win gay marriage.)
According to a Washington Post
poll released late last year, a
majority (54%) of Floridians support marriage equality, while 33
percent remain opposed.