US: Florida judge denies request to allow same-sex marriages
A Florida judge denied a request Monday to permit same-sex marriages while an appeal on the state’s same-sex marriage ban is pending.
Judge Luis Garcia, who ruled last week that Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, was the same judge to deny the request today.
Marriage licenses were expected to be issued starting Tuesday in Monroe County but Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an appeal, automatically putting a stay on the ruling by Judge Garcia.
Garcia will uphold the stay until the appeal is decided, stating the precedent of other courts has been to stay proceedings when faced with appeals.
It is expected the appeal will go all the way to the US Supreme Court, where similar appeals from Utah and Oklahoma are already waiting to be heard.
