U.S. Rep. David Jolly said on July 21 he supports the decision to recognize same-sex marriage in Florida.
Jolly is a Republican who narrowing defeated Democrat Alex Sink in march for the District 13 seat left open by the death of Rep. Bill Young.
In a statement to The Washington Post, he shared that while he personally believes in marriage between one man and one woman, he thinks governments should allow same-sex couples to wed.
“As a matter of my Christian faith, I believe in traditional marriage,” Jolly said. “But as a matter of Constitutional principle I believe in a form of limited government that protects personal liberty. To me, that means that the sanctity of one’s marriage should be defined by their faith and by their church, not by their state. Accordingly, I believe it is fully appropriate for a state to recognize both traditional marriage as well as same-sex marriage, and therefore I support the recent decision by a Monroe County Circuit Judge.”
Judge Luis Garcia ruled July 17 that Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and originally said marriages could begin on July 22. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed an appeal, which halted any marriages from happening.
“With many similar cases pending throughout the entire country, finality on this constitutional issue must come from the U.S. Supreme Court,” reads a statement Bondi’s office released quickly after the ruling,” the appeal says.
Florida’s 13th district encompasses everything from Dunedin to St. Petersburg. Jolly is the eighth Republican on Congress to come out in support of same-sex marriage, The Post reported.
Jolly is up for reelection this year. He will run against Libertarian Lucas Overby in November.
