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Miami judge who overturned ban weds gays and lesbians
APTOPIX Gay Marriage  Werm
Todd, left, and Jeff Delmay, celebrate as they leave the courthouse after having attended a hearing in which a Miami-Dade Circuit judge cleared the way for gay and lesbian couples to marry Monday in Miami. Judge Sarah Zabel provided a jump-start Monday to Florida's entry as the 36th state where gays and lesbians can legally marry, saying she saw no reason why same-sex couples couldn't immediately get their licenses in Miami-Dade County ahead of a midnight launch statewide. - photo by Associated Press
MIAMI — Lesbian and gay couples were wed in Miami on Monday by the same judge who approved their marriage licenses, hours before Florida's coming-out party as the nation's 36th state where same-sex marriages are now legal statewide. The addition of Florida's 19.9 million people means 70 percent of Americans now live in states where gay marriage is legal. The cheers in the courthouse reflect how much of the nation's third-largest state has changed since the 1970s, when Anita Bryant, the former beauty pageant queen and orange juice spokeswoman, started her national campaign against gay rights in Miami.
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