MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Six gay couples have filed a lawsuit in Florida seeking to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on behalf of the couples by Equality Florida Institute Inc. The lawsuit claims Florida's gay marriage ban violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process.
Similar claims have been made in other states, including Oklahoma and Utah, where judges recently struck down gay marriage bans as discriminatory.
Florida voters enshrined a ban on same-sex marriage in the state constitution in 2008. Attorneys for the gay couples say that they believe public opinion is different now and that judges are increasingly concluding the laws are unconstitutional.
