BTL Staff
TALLAHASSEE – Florida's 2nd District Court of Appeals asked Florida Supreme Court Aug 27 to decide whether or not the state's ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional.
The high court is asked to settle the question due to "great public importance." If the court takes the case it could result in having the issue settled before SCOTUS acts on marriage equality, AP writes.
A panel of judges with the Lakeland based appeals court rejected a request earlier this month to forward the case up to the state Supreme Court. The ruling was overturned in a 10-3 decision by the entire appeals court.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has asked judges to stop ruling on same-sex marriage cases until the U.S. Supreme Court makes a decision on the constitutionality of banning same-sex marriage. Her request has not been ruled on yet.
Florida judges in four other counties including Palm Beach, Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward have overturned the ban. Last week a Florida federal judge also overturned the ban.
The case that is requesting the audience of the state Supreme Court is of a Hillsborough County divorce case involving a couple married in Massachusetts but have since relocated to the Tampa Bay area. They filed a petition to dissolve their union but was rejected by a Florida judge who noted that state law doesn't recognize the marriage.
