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Gay couples drop challenges

TAMPA - Three gay couples dropped their lawsuits Tuesday challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act, saying they don't want to risk having the U.S. Supreme Court set a legal precedent by rejecting their cases.

The suits were brought by gay couples married in Massachusetts and Canada who wanted Florida to recognize their marriages. Florida law only recognizes marriages between a man and a woman, and the Defense of Marriage Act allows states to disregard gay marriages performed elsewhere.

Ellis Rubin, the couples' attorney, said a key factor in their decision was the Supreme Court's recent refusal to hear a challenge to the Florida law that bans gays from adopting children.

"That ruling strongly suggests that our case would not be favorably received," Rubin said.

Two of the lawsuits were dismissed by a federal judge in Tampa last week. The third case, filed in Miami, had not been heard.

If the dismissals had been appealed, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta would have heard the case, and its ruling either way would almost certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Rubin said he felt chances were "very slim of us prevailing" in an 11th Circuit appeal, "and that would establish precedent for other judicial circuits."

[Last modified January 26, 2005, 00:12:14]