Same-sex couples in Florida are now fighting to list both spouses a child’s birth certificate even if they are the same sex.
Two couples and an advocacy group have asked a federal judge to require the Florida Department of Health list both spouses on the birth certificate. They wanted to be treated the same way men and woman partners are treated.The request for summary judgement is intended to short-circuit the need for a trial. It contends that the department refuses to list both spouses in same-sex marriages on birth certificates and that violates the couples’ constitutional rights.
As reported by the News Service of Florida, the court document states:
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The plaintiffs of the lawsuit include Equality Florida Institute advocacy group. The lawsuit was filed in August, only seven months after same-sex couples were allowed to marry in the state.
The other plaintiffs are Kari Chin and Deborah Chin, who were married in 2013 in Massachusetts and Kari Chin gave birth in February 2015 to a son according to court filing. The Department of Health’s Office of Vital Statistics listed only Kari Chin on the birth certificate and declined to list both spouses.Alma Vazquez and Yadira Arenas were married in 2013 in New York. Vazquez gave birth in March 2015 to a daughter. The court filing said Vazquez was told she had to be listed as unmarried to get a birth certificate.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle has given the Department of Health until January 6 to respond to the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. Hinkle also ruled last year the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. That set the stage for marriages to begin.