TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A new bill filed in the Florida Legislature this week aims to demolish a decades-old state law governing same-sex marriage.
That law, which was originally passed in 1997, explicitly states that Florida does not recognize gay marriage within the state.
In addition, Florida voters codified the definition of marriage in the Florida Constitution back in 2008 via an amendment. Since then, marriage has been defined as the following:
"Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."
Florida Constitution, Article I, Section 27
Since then, multiple court cases held that these sorts of restrictions were inherently unconstitutional, meaning the state’s prohibitions were effectively made moot.
Regardless, this latest bill — HB 6019, filed by state Rep. Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) — seeks an explicit repeal of the state’s 1997 law.
For years now, similar legislation has been proposed, though many of these bills ultimately died before reaching full votes in either the House or Senate.
While it’s not certain whether HB 6019 will garner much support among lawmakers this time around, it’s not the only piece of legislation that Driskell has filed thus far.
[BELOW: Equality Florida weighs in on gay marriage ruling]
For example, another bill she filed would prohibit hairstyle discrimination in the state, similar to other protected characteristics like race, sex or religion.
Another places limits on the governor’s authority to declare a state of emergency, and a third seeks to tackle state-level “government waste and misconduct,” especially concerning projects like Alligator Alcatraz and Hope Florida.
In the meantime, if HB 6019 manages to get approval from lawmakers during next year’s legislative session, it is slated to take effect on July 1, 2026.