This twice-divorced Florida politician is trying to stall same-sex weddings
Florida’s Attorney General Pam Bondi – who has divorced two husbands – has made a desperate attempt to halt impending same-sex weddings.
A stay on a ruling striking down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is currently set to expire on January 5, which would allow marriages to begin immediately.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has previously refused to extend the stay – meaning now only the Supreme Court could step in to stop weddings.
As same-sex couples across the state have been planning their weddings for after the legal deadline, this week Republican Pam Bondi issued a legal brief calling on the Supreme Court to extend the deadline and stop the weddings.
A statement from her office said: “In a continuation of the effort to maintain uniformity and order throughout Florida until final resolution of the numerous challenges to the voter-approved constitutional amendment on marriage, the Attorney General’s office filed with the United States Supreme Court an application to extend the stay.”
Ms Bondi previously claimed in a legal brief that “disrupting Florida’s existing marriage laws would impose significant public harm”, and would cause “significant financial and logistical problems”
She later defended the claim – saying that she has gay friends.
The politician said: “People always talk about personal views, it has to do with an Attorney General doing her job. It is my job.
“I have a lot of gay friends, I can tell you I sat in a church and took pictures when one of my friends adopted two little boys from Russia before you could adopt legally here in Florida. I took the pictures at the baptism.”
Despite her claims, Governors and Attorney Generals in several other states have refused to defend same-sex marriage bans.
