Two men together more than a decade
have filed a state lawsuit challenging Florida's ban on gay marriage.
According to The
Florida Keys Reporter, Aaron Huntsman, 43, and William Lee
Jones, 42, were denied a marriage license Tuesday by Monroe County
Clerk Amy Heavilin.
The men, bartenders at 801 Bourbon Bar
in Key West, said they want to marry on the anniversary of their 11th
year together, June 10.
Voters in 2008 approved Amendment 2, a
constitutional amendment which prohibits the state from recognizing
any union other than a heterosexual marriage.
“Until it changes or is found
unconstitutional, it is the law,” Ron Saunders, general counsel at
the clerk's office, told the paper. “No clerk in the state can do
anything until a judge rules otherwise or the law changes.”
Two similar challenges to the ban have
been filed this year.
(Related: Eight
gay couples sue to force Florida to recognize their marriages.)