Fran Bishop and Kathy Collins of the Village of Mallory have been a couple for 30 years.
They tied the knot – legally – this past September in Wilmington, Del.
They traveled to Delaware because it was legal for a same-sex couple to wed there.
“We would have much rather gotten married here in Florida,” said Kathy, who is from Miami.
Members of the Rainbow Family & Friends Club of The Villages celebrated Thursday evening after a judge overturned the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Club members gathered at Bonifay Country Club to celebrate the ruling by Jeb Bush-appointed Circuit Judge Luis M. Garcia.
“I would like to see an end to ‘destination weddings,'” said Peggy Garvin of the Rainbow Family & Friends Club.
She and her partner, Wendy O’Donnell were married 22 years ago in a ceremony that is not legally binding.
The Villages couple hope they will eventually be able to say their vows right here in Florida.
“It’s been an uphill battle, but it’s falling faster than we thought,” Garvin said.
Judge Garcia’s ruling applies only to Monroe County down in the Florida Keys. The lawsuit on which he rules contended that the same-sex marriage ban approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2008 violated the federal 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. The legal challenge by gay couples said it effectively made them second-class citizens.
“Today’s ruling didn’t just come from nowhere; there’s no doubt about that. It’s the direct result of the historic movement supporters like you have helped build in every region of the state. Thanks for always being there to speak out and support this amazing movement in the Sunshine State,” said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi swiftly announced she would appeal Judge Garcia’s ruling to the Third District Court of Appeal.
Her office issued a statement, saying that “with many similar cases pending throughout the entire country, finality on this constitutional issue must come from the U.S. Supreme Court.”
By filing a notice of appeal, Bondi triggered an automatic stay in the case, meaning that Judge Garcia’s ruling is put on hold. If the stay is lifted before Tuesday, any same-sex couple can travel to the Keys that day and receive a marriage license at the county clerk’s office.