A federal appeals court has denied the state’s motion to keep Florida’s gay marriage ban in place. This means gay marriages might start taking place in the Sunshine State as soon as early January.
A panel of judges at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s motion Wednesday asking a court to keep the state’s gay marriage ban in place.
The ACLU of Florida, which has been representing several same sex couples-- as well as a Fort Myers widow who recently lost her wife, asked the court to instead lift a stay and let gay marriages take place.
A federal judge ruled back in August that Florida’s law was unconstitutional, but he stayed the effects until other gay marriage cases around the state were settled.
Now that the stay will be lifted, the ACLU said in a statement “if no other extension is placed on the stay, marriages will be able to go forward and marriages performed in other states will be recognized starting January 6th.”
Arlene Goldberg, the plaintiff in the case from Fort Myers, said she fought the gay marriage ban on behalf of her deceased partner of 47 years.
“Because of her she really pushed me out to get this done,” she said. “But, I’m thrilled for the community. I really am. It’s a wonderful thing.”
Goldberg said she’s excited this could be the end of the road for this ongoing legal fight.
She’s also excited same sex couples will get to marry in Florida, which she said she wishes she could have done with her partner.
