Federal judge rules Florida's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional

Although four state judges had previously ruled in the same fashion, today a federal judge struck down Florida's same-sex marriage ban.

From the Florida ACLU:

In his decision, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle held that by denying the plaintiffs fundamental right to marry, Florida’s marriage ban violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

He also held that the state’s rationale for denying recognition of the marriages not only had no rational basis, but would fail even a higher level of scrutiny, stating that “[t]he undeniable truth is that the Florida ban on same-sex marriage stems entirely, or almost entirely, from moral disapproval of the practice,” and that “moral disapproval alone cannot sustain” a ban restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Hinkle's decision is stayed pending Supreme Court action.