Back on June 11, when Miami Beach commissioners passed a motion in favor of gay marriage, Mayor Philip Levine promised more than talk. "It's important," he said, "for us not to be pro LGBT by word, but more importantly by action."
Now Levine and Miami Beach appear to be following through. Last night the city, in conjunction with Orlando, filed a brief laying out the two cities' support for Gildas Dousset, a Frenchman and FAU student who was married in Massachusetts to Broward travel writer Paul Rubio. Dousset is suing the university because he's being charged non-resident tuition; if he were a woman married to Rubio he would be considered a resident.
"Florida's prohibition on marriage for gay and lesbian couples," reads the brief, "is detrimental to the health and welfare of the Cities' residents; interferes with the administration of the Cities' business as employers' and denies the Cities tourism revenue."
See also: Miami Beach Becomes First City in Florida to Offer Health Benefits for Transgender Employees
Orlando commissioners passed a similar proposal, by a vote of 4-2, in favor of gay marriage yesterday, and the two cities also hurriedly filed a joint motion on behalf of six same-sex South Florida couples who are suing the state for the right to marry.
"The appearance of the cities is significant on a statewide scale because for the first Florida cities are standing up and saying marriage discrimination is just plain wrong," Robert Rosenwald, an attorney for Miami Beach, told the Miami Herald. "It is unusual for a city to take a position on a social justice issue, but here both cities wanted to stand up for what is right."
Here's the full brief:
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