US: Florida appeals court won’t lift same-sex marriage stay

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A Florida appeals court declined to intervene in the same-sex marriage case in Monroe County on Wednesday.

This decision leaves Florida same-sex couples still unable to legally wed.

The US 3rd District Court of Appeals refused to override a county judge’s decision preventing same-sex marriage licenses from being issued while a state appeal is being processed.

An attorney for one of the same-sex couples involved in the suit, Bernadette Restivo, said she will soon ask the 3rd District Court of Appeals to certify that marriage equality is an issue of public importance.

This would allow the case to go directly to the Florida Supreme Court for a ruling that would affect the entire state, not just Monroe County.

Restivo said to the Associated Press: “We’re not going to let the opposition dictate the pace. They could drag it out for months. We’re doing everything we can to move it along.”

Circuit Judge Luis Garcia ruled in favour of same-sex marriage last week, overturning Monroe County’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Couples were expected to be able to marry Tuesday, until Attorney General Pam Bondi filed an immediate appeal against the ruling, causing an automatic stay to be put in place.

Judge Garcia denied a request Monday to permit same-sex marriages while Bondi’s appeal on the state’s ban is pending.

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