Sides square off in court battle on Florida gay marriage ban

July 2, 2014: Anti-gay marriage protesters stage a rally during the court hearing on gay marriage in Miami. (AP)

MIAMI – Attorneys for gay couples, the state of Florida and traditional marriage groups squared off in court in a battle over a lawsuit challenging Florida's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel issued no immediate ruling after the two-hour hearing Wednesday in a packed courtroom. Like others filed across the country, the lawsuit contends the gay marriage ban added by voters to the state constitution is discriminatory and violates equal protection guarantees.

Attorney General Pam Bondi's office countered that a single judge should not overturn the amendment passed in 2008. Bondi's attorneys also argue the U.S. Supreme Court has left marriage definitions to the states.

Zabel is being asked strike down the same-sex marriage ban before a trial. Twenty-one recent rulings in other states have backed gay marriage.