Video: Hundreds of Same-Sex Couples Gather in Miami Beach to Renew Vows

For months, gay-marriage activists had circled January 6 as the date when Florida's ban would finally fall. That's when a stay striking down the gay-marriage ban was set to expire, empowering clerks around Florida to begin issuing licenses. Well, Miami-Dade jumped the gun and start issuing licenses Monday instead, setting...

By New Times staff

January 7, 2015

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For months, gay-marriage activists had circled January 6 as the date when Florida's ban would finally fall. That's when a stay striking down the gay-marriage ban was set to expire, empowering clerks around Florida to begin issuing licenses.

Well, Miami-Dade jumped the gun and start issuing licenses Monday instead, setting off a statewide celebration and dozens of local marriages. But even if yesterday wasn't the official end of the gay-marriage ban, it still marked a hell of a party for hundreds of same-sex couples who gathered in Miami Beach for a mass renewal of vows.

The atmosphere at Miami Beach Botanical Garden was ecstatic as the couples -- who had previously married in other states where gay unions were legal -- officially retied the knot in South Beach.

More than 500 attended the event, where Mayor Phillip Levine promised to make Miami Beach an international LGBT destination where weddings are now part of the agenda.

"In Miami Beach, when it comes to LGBT rights, there's no question," he told the Miami Herald. "It's a yes vote."

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