The Supreme Court declined to extend a stay sought by Florida officials who were defending the state’s same-sex marriage ban. Gay marriage can now proceed in Florida beginning in January.
Some weddings can begin as soon as the stay expires on January 5 after an order by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta this month, according to Reuters.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who asked the court to block same-sex marriages earlier this week, said she would not attempt to start the beginning of the marriages.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Daniel Tilley” author_title=”Attorney for American Civil Liberties of Florida”]
This is a thrilling day for all Florida families. As we explained to the court, every day that the ban remains in place, couples are suffering real harms. We are grateful that the court recognized that, and that as a result, those days are finally coming to an end.
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The Supreme Court, without comment, refused a request to block gay marriages in the state while the state appeals a judge’s order that the ban is unconstitutional. While Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia said they would have granted the motion, they gave no explanation for their reasoning, according to the Washington Post.
In August, a Tallahassee district judge struck down Florida’s gay marriage ban as unconstitutional. He chose to stay his decision until January 5.
Florida’s request differs from others the Supreme Court Justices have faced. The justices have refused to grant stay requests from states in the four regional appeals courts that have agreed that bans are unconstitutional, but the 11th Circuit has not yet ruled on whether same-sex marriage bans are constitutional.
Tilley’s group expects public officials in all 67 counties to implement the decision across the state. State judges in 4 counties in Southern Florida have declared the same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, although these decisions are also being appealed by Bondi and no licenses have been issued, according to the Huffington Post.
On the federal level, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld the right of four states to choose whether they will allow same-sex marriage.
