FLORIDA: Appeals Court Kicks Marriage Case Upstairs To State Supreme Court

Apparently ignoring the directions of Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Florida state appeals court today asked the state Supreme Court to issue a ruling on marriage equality. Via Equality Florida:

“This is what we’ve been asking for all along. We’re thrilled that the 2nd DCA agrees that marriage equality is an issue of such urgency and importance that it should be elevated directly to the Florida Supreme Court. We hope that the 3rd DCA in Miami will follow suit and request that the marriage cases pending before them also be moved directly to the Florida Supreme Court. We need a final resolution, not another appeal, because every day this discriminatory ban remains in place causes significant and irreparable harm to our families.”

Today's case comes out the Tampa Bay area's Hillsborough County, where a couple married in Massachusetts is seeking to divorce. Bondi's office is not involved in that case. Other pro-marriage rulings were handed down last month in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties. Last week a federal judge overturned the ban statewide, but stayed his ruling pending appeal. Bondi was removed from that case by the judge, who ruled that she and Gov. Rick Scott are "duplicative defendants."