District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Although there is no state recognition of domestic partners, more than half of Florida's population lives in counties or cities that recognize domestic partners. Nine of Florida's 67 counties recognize domestic partners. March 2004 — Miami Herald Survey and St.
Petersburg Times: 65% oppose same-sex marriage and the majority supports civil unions. A survey conducted by The Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times revealed that 65% of Floridians oppose same-sex marriage, while 27% support it and 8% are undecided. However, most believe that same-sex couples should have the same rights as married heterosexual couples.
Only 41% support President Bush's campaign for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage is legal in Florida, as in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is due to the historic Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States. But that was not always the case.
Floridians have had a difficult history of recognizing marriage equality, including a one-time total ban and a voter-approved constitutional amendment to several Florida court cases that helped shape the existence of marriage equality in the Sunshine State. While he said that more and more Republicans support gay rights, he acknowledged that the leadership is not, preventing gay rights issues from being heard in the Legislature.
