Pam Bondi Asks Florida Supreme Court to Rule on Gay Marriage

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is asking the Florida Supreme Court to rule on same-sex marriage in the Sunshine State. On Monday, Bondi filed an appeal with the 3rdDistrict Court of Appeal asking them to consider ruling on allowing gay couples to marry in Florida.

Bondi's filing comes on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last week when the justices rejected appeals to gay marriage rulings in five states --Virginia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Utah and Indiana.

"Until recently, the issue was squarely before the United States Supreme Court, and it appeared that a definitive answer was coming," wrote Bondi. "Several certi-orari petitions from several states asked that court to take up the issue and rule. Even those who had prevailed below sought Supreme Court review. The UnitedStates Supreme Court had the opportunity to answer the question with a decisionbinding on all citizens. That decision -- had there been one -- would have endedthese cases and all others like it."

Because of this decision, Bondi wrote, Florida's courts will have to rule on the issue without the U.S. Supreme Court's guidance.

Several Florida judges ruled earlier this year that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but their rulings were stayed pending appeal.