Florida Family Action, the group having a key role in the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, is trying to interfere in the effort to overturn the ban in a Miami-Dade County court.
Family Action joined two other groups in filing the motion, arguing they could not be “adequately represented” by Harvey Ruvin, Clerk of Courts for Miami-Dade County. Ruvin is one of the defendants named in the petition by six gay couples and the Equality Florida Institute. Ruvin became a defendant after refusing to grant marriage licenses to the gay couples.
“As a government official, the clerk has no stake in preserving and protecting the underlying societal norms and social good attendant to the definition of the institution of marriage,” according to the motion.
“The clerk also has no stake in safeguarding the citizens’ voting rights,” the motion continues. “Instead, the clerk is merely an agent of the state and is required only to implement, not defend, statutes and constitutional provisions.”
Florida Family Action was heavily involved in both drafting and the adoption of the 2008 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The lawsuit filed in Miami last month argues the prohibition against same-sex marriage violates constitutional protections against discrimination, denying “equal dignity and respect.”
