The Alachua County Commission has joined the city of Gainesville and other local governments in signing onto a friend-of-the-court brief filed in various marriage equality cases in Florida involving the state’s same-sex marriage ban.
The Gainesville City Commission decided to join in the amicus curiae brief in October, and the County Commission followed suit Tuesday. (The friend-of-the-court brief was included as an item on the county’s consent agenda.)
Gainesville was the first municipality in North Florida to sign onto it and, according to an Equality Florida news release, Alachua County is the first county in North Florida to do so.
The amicus curiae brief that was filed by the cities of Miami Beach and Orlando says marriage inequality hurts their residents and brings legal, financial and psychological harm to families. It also argues that marriage inequality negatively impacts tourism and is problematic for the cities in their capacities as employers because it makes it more difficult to attract and maintain a top-notch workforce.
Alachua County and Gainesville aren’t the only ones who have signed onto the brief. So have other cities and counties, including Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, Tampa, Orange County and Broward County, according to the Equality Florida news release.
Here’s the friend-of-the-court brief if you want to skim through it.