Many same-sex marriages, including large multi-couple ceremonies, have been held in Florida this week after the temporary stay was lifted on a Federal district court ruling that the state ban was unconstitutional and a clarifying ruling by that court that the ruling applies to all counties in the state. The first same-sex marriage ceremony was held in Miami-Dade by a state judge on Monday night, and the ruling requiring all county clerks to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples went into effect on Tuesday. Some county clerks, such as Broward County clerk of courts Howard C. Forman who led a five-minute ceremony for 20 couples in the early hours of Tuesday morning, are positively embracing the change. Other counties, such as Duval County, have responded by no longer conducting any courthouse weddings. Florida is the 36th state that legally recognizes same-sex marriages.
See Lizette Alvarez & Nila Do Simon, Same-Sex Pairs in Florida Say Jubilant ‘I Dos’, The New York Times, Jan. 6, 2014
