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Key West couple files lawsuit challenging Florida’s same-sex marriage ban

Key West couple files lawsuit challenging Florida’s same-sex marriage ban

KEY WEST, Fla. — A same-sex couple in Key West, Fla., has filed a lawsuit after being refused a marriage license in Monroe County.

Key-WestThe Miami Herald reports that Aaron Huntsman, 43, and his partner William Lee Jones, 42, filed suit against county clerk Amy Heavilin after her office refused to issue them a marriage license.

The suit, filed in Monroe County, is the latest to challenge Florida’s Amendment 2, a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions, approved by voters in 2008.

Huntsman and Jones, both bartenders at 801 Bourbon Bar in Key West, want to marry on June 10.

“It’s going to be our 11-year anniversary being together and the 10-year anniversary of our commitment ceremony on the Las Vegas strip,” the couple said.

The Key West suit is the fourth lawsuit filed this year challenging Florida’s gay marriage ban.

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On January 21, six same-sex couples and Equality Florida Institute filed suit [ Pareto v. Ruvin ] in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, alleging that Amendment 2 violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.

Two additional lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee in February [ Brenner v. Scott ] and March [ Grimsley and Albu v. Scott ]

The Monroe County case is Huntsman v. Heavilin.

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