Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday she will be filing appeals in several same-sex marriage cases across the state.
Bondi will act as a defendant in four cases overturning the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Bondi, who has not intervened in previous rulings, decided to intervene now “to promote an orderly and consistent resolution of pending challenges to the voter-approved constitutional provision on marriage,” according to a statement.
She asked judges across the state to stop ruling in same-sex marriage cases until the U.S. Supreme Court makes a decision on the constitutionality of the ban.
Director of UF LGBT affairs, LB Hannahs, doesn’t expect Bondi’s involvement to change the day-to-day lives of the LGBT community, but hopes it will continue to raise awareness on the issue, especially with the upcoming gubernatorial race in November.
“It kicks up support for the issue and makes it something that people are paying attention to,” Hannahs, 30, said. “I think it’s just a waiting game now.”
Terry Fleming, co-president of the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida, said Bondi’s involvement only delays the inevitable.
“It certainly looks like the ultimate result of these cases will be that same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in Florida,” he said. “But if she wasn’t appealing the cases, same-sex couples would be marrying today and we wouldn’t have to wait for the Supreme Court to decide.”
Fleming, who is a veteran, said the delay is also an issue for couples like him and his husband, who were married in another state and now can’t access their marriage rights and can’t transfer Fleming’s veteran benefits to his spouse in Florida because of the ban.
“There are some same-sex couples whose legal decision-making is contingent on Florida providing full rights to LGBT couples,” he said. “There are couples that cannot wait based on the circumstances of their lives.”
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said.
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 9/16/2014 under the headline "Bondi announces plans to appeal same-sex marriage cases"]
