Florida’s Homosexual Marriage Ban Has Not Been Overturned Yet

This past week has been one of great interest for Florida’s homosexual population. They have been fighting to be allowed to marry for years now, but when a recent vote passed a measure making it constitutionally illegal for homosexuals to marry in Florida, many people lost hope.

While it is true that other states have had similar measures overturned by judges, Florida’s had stood firm so far, until just recently.

Or at least, that’s what was believed.

Heather Brassner, who was seeking a dissolution to her out-of-state marriage to Megan Lade had faced an uphill battle from the beginning. First, Lade disappeared, and was unable to be found by a private investigator. Second, as homosexual marriages are unconstitutional in Florida, family courts are not able to even recognize out-of-state marriages, so there was legally nothing the state could do.

Enter Broward County Judge Dale Cohen, who reviewed Brassner’s case and granted her a divorce, saying that Florida’s ban on gay marriage was not constitutional itself.

Proponents for homosexual marriage were thrilled, and when Florida’s Attorney General let the deadline for appeal slip by quietly, their thrill turned to jubilation.

It turns out, however, that the divorce filing was not valid to begin with. Therefore, Judge Cohen had to nullify his decision by saying that Brassner “failed to comply with [state law] by failing to notice the Office of the Attorney General of these proceedings by either registered or certified mail.”

This does not mean that Brassner will forever be unable to file for divorce, though, it merely means that the way hers was filed before was invalid. Brassner’s attorney has said that this is merely a minor setback, and they will be pushing forward with full force, having met all legal technicalities.

Source: http://www.sdgln.com/news/2014/09/10/florida-gay-divorce-ruling-vacated-speed-bump