Judge Says Anti-Gay Groups Cannot Intervene In Case Challenging Florida's Gay Marriage Ban

A Florida judge on Tuesday denied three anti-gay groups permission to intervene in a lawsuit challenging Florida's ban on gay marriage.

“The proposed intervenors … have no 'personal stake' in defending the Amendment's constitutionality that is distinguishable from the general interest of every citizen of Florida,” Judge Sarah Zabel of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami wrote in her 6-page ruling. “They will not be directly and immediately affected if others enter into a same-sex marriage, or are prevented from entering into a same-sex marriage.”

“Like the Petitioners in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Proposed Intervenors will suffer no concrete and particularized injury as a result of this case,” she added, a reference to the lawsuit which successfully struck down California's marriage ban, Proposition 8.

The three groups actively supported passage of Amendment 2, Florida's 2008 voter-approved constitutional amendment which prohibits the state from recognizing the relationships of gay couples with civil unions or marriage. The groups include Florida Family Action, Inc. (FFAI), Florida Democratic League Inc. (FDL) and People United to Lead the Struggle for Equality, Inc. (PULSE).

Plaintiffs in the case – six gay couples and Equality Florida Institute – are being represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the law firm Carlton Fields Jorden Burt.

Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida Institute, applauded the move.

“Today Judge Zabel reached the proper conclusion in denying extremists seeking a platform for their anti-gay rhetoric the right to intervene in this case,” she said. “This lawsuit is about fundamental, constitutionally protected rights that are violated by a measure that does real harm to our families.”

Zabel will hear arguments in the lawsuit on Wednesday, July 2.