Eleventh Circuit Rejects Florida Request for Stay of Marriage Ban Ruling

11th Circuit Court of Appeals

In a desperate attempt to whore themselves out to the Christofascists Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Governor Rick Scott sought to have the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit stay the August ruling of U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle striking down Florida's ban on same-sex marriage.  Now, barring a stay by the U.S. Supreme Court, same sex marriages will begin on January 5, 2015.  The fact that the Eleventh Circuit refused to grant the stay does not bode well for marriage equality opponents since, if the Eleventh Circuit was likely to uphold Florida's marriage ban, it would have granted the requested stay.  Here are details from the Washington Blade:

A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to continue the hold on same-sex marriages in Florida following a lower court ruling against the state’s ban on gay nuptials, allowing same-sex couples to begin to wed in the state “at the end of the day” on Jan. 5.

In a three-page order, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted expedited review of a request from Florida officials to extend a stay as litigation proceeds against the state’s ban on gay nuptials, but determined the hold on Florida same-sex marriages should come to an end.

Because the Supreme Court in October refused to review decisions from three federal appeals court in favor of marriage equality, thereby dissolving the stays in those states, the hold on same-sex marriages in Florida was set to expire on Jan. 5.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Republican, had sought to extend the stay on gay nuptials in Florida up to Election Day and beyond, but the Eleventh Circuit order rebuffs her latest request to stop them from happening.

The state has another option: It could take up its stay request with the U.S Supreme Court. The request would be directed to U.S. Associate Justice Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles stay requests for the 11th Circuit. Thomas could decide the matter himself or refer it to the entire court.

Although the Supreme Court has recently denied stays on same-sex marriage in Idaho, South Carolina and Alaska, the lack of a federal appeals court ruling on Florida’s marriage law makes the high court’s actions on a stay more uncertain. 

If a stay request is directed to Thomas - in my view the dumbest and among the worse anti-gay bigots on the Supreme Court - beyond a temporary stay, the decision for a longer stay would depend on action by the full Court which has shown itself to be reluctant to gran stays where the out come at the lower appellate court against the petitioner seems obvious.  

The husband and I love Key West and it would certainly be nice on or next visit to be viewed as legally married under Florida law.