A.G. Pam Bondi asks Florida Supreme Court to rule on same-sex marriage

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi has defended Florida’s gay marriage ban, but she now says she wants the state’s high court to settle whether the ban is legal.

Bondi’s office filed a request late Oct. 13 with the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami in the turnabout decision.

The filing asks that the appeals court immediately send two consolidated cases up to the Florida Supreme Court. In both cases, judges declared the state’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional.

This summer, Bondi had opposed a similar suggestion. But now she says “changed circumstances” warrant having the state’s highest court settle the issue.

This month, the U.S. Supreme Court turned away appeals from five states seeking to prohibit gay and lesbian unions. The terse decision paved the way for gay marriage in those states.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit granted the motion from Fla. Governor Rick Scott and Bondi to extend the deadline of the appellant briefs until after Election Day. The deadline is now November 14.

More in News

See More