Today the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the state’s motion for stay of a District Court ruling that overturned the state’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples. The stay is scheduled to expire at the end of the day on January 5th, enabling same-sex couples to apply for marriage licenses at that time.
The court’s ruling means same-sex couples should be able to begin getting marriage licenses on January 5, 2015, statewide, according to Equality Florida
Now, the state of Florida can seek a stay from the United States Supreme Court, although the court has already denied similar requests for stay extensions in South Carolina, Alaska, Idaho, and Kansas.
The ruling was in the case Brenner v. Armstrong and Gimrsley and Albu v. Scott, two federal cases seeking the freedom to marry and respect for marriages legally performed in other states, in Florida. Grimsley and Albu v. Scott was originally filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of SAVE, an LGBT organization in Miami and eight same-sex couples who were married in other states seeking respect in Florida. The case is on a parallel track as Brenner v. Scott, filed by private lawyers on behalf of two same-sex couples from northern Florida. On August 21, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in favor of the freedom to marry and respect for marriages legally performed between same-sex couples in other states in the cases.
The 11th Circuit’s decision underscores that same-sex couples should not have to wait to marry and that there is no good reason to delay justice.
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