A south Florida judge on Tuesday became the fourth in recent weeks to strike down the state's same-sex marriage ban, according to The Associated Press.
In finding the same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, Circuit Court Judge Diana Lewis limited her ruling to the specific circumstances involved in the probate case, the AP reported.
The ruling by Broward County Circuit Judge Dale Cohen mirrors decisions made last month by judges in Monroe and Miami-Dade counties, according to the AP. All found that a 2008 voter-approved constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the state violates gay residents' right to equal protection under the law as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
"The tides are turning on the issue of same-sex marriage throughout this country," Cohen wrote, the AP reported.
No marriage licenses will be issued for gay couples in any of the three counties, pending appeals, according to the AP.
the AP reported Cohen wrote in his ruling that, "To discriminate based on sexual orientation, to deny families equality, to stigmatize children and spouses, to hold some couples less worthy of legal benefits than others based on their sexual orientation, to deny individuals tax credits, marital property rights, the ability to dissolve their unions from other jurisdictions is against all that this country holds dear, as it denies equal citizenship. Marriage is a well-recognized fundamental right, all people should be entitled to enjoy its benefits."
Republican Gov. Rick Scott has said he supports the gay-marriage ban amendment but opposes discrimination, according to the AP.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia allow gay people to marry, the AP reported. Bans that have been overturned in some other states continue to make their way through the courts.
In 1977, Florida became the only state prohibiting gay people from adopting children, according to the AP. A state court judge threw out that law in 2008, finding "no rational basis" for it, so two years later, the state decided not to appeal, making gay adoption legal.
