Orlando, FL – Same-sex marriage advocates have now dismissed all eight lawsuits filed in Florida challenging Florida’s marriage laws. Attorneys who brought the case of Higgs v. Kolhage in Key West, Florida, filed papers on February 13, 2006, requesting dismissal. The plaintiffs in Higgs are represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief in support of Florida’s marriage laws in this case.

The same attorney with the NCLR who represents Higgs is also a member of the legal team which argued against allowing Florida voters to have the opportunity to pass an amendment to the Florida Constitution to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. On February 8, 2006 – the week before the NCLR filed for dismissal of the Higgs case – the Florida Supreme Court heard oral argument on the amendment. Mathew D. Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, argued for the amendment, and the NCLR attorney was also present. The argument did not go well for the NCLR and the ACLU, as the justices appeared skeptical of the arguments against the amendment. Indeed, the Court issued a unanimous opinion last week upholding the amendment language. NCLR must have realized that the Higgs case would fare no better before the Court than their opposition to the marriage amendment.

Five other cases that were filed in state court, but were dismissed last year, include: Ash v. Forman (Broward County); Clayton v. Ake (Hillsboro County); Merritt v. Gardner (Orange County); Berman v. Wilkin (Palm Beach County); and Kelley v. Green (Lee County). The dismissal of these cases followed on the heels of a federal court decision in the Florida case of Wilson v. Ake, which upheld Florida’s marriage laws in January 2005. The Wilson case rejected an attempt to extend a Massachusetts same-sex marriage to Florida. The other federal court case dismissed last year was Sullivan v. Bush (Southern District of Florida).

Mathew D. Staver commented: “Although all eight court challenges against Florida’s marriage laws are over, voters can only be certain to protect marriage through the passage of a state constitutional amendment. To successfully defend marriage, we must win all of the time. One loss can create a ripple effect around the country. Courts did not create marriage and should not destroy it. Efforts to pass state and federal constitutional marriage amendments will continue to move forward. When people are allowed a choice, they always choose marriage as the union of only one man and one woman.”

A large coalition of Florida groups is promoting a citizen initiative to pass a state constitutional amendment. The proposed amendment, for which a statewide vote is planned in 2008, states: “Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.” The petition for the amendment is accessible online at www.LC.org and www.Florida4Marriage.org.