Florida Quietly Ends Appeal In Same-Sex Marriage Case

July 19, 2015

Three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry, Florida quietly gave notice Friday that it was dismissing an appeal in a legal battle about the constitutionality of the state’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage.

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office filed a two-paragraph motion for dismissal in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to an online docket.

The state in November filed the appeal in two consolidated cases, after U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction against Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage. Hinkle ruled that the ban, which voters approved in 2008, was unconstitutional. Hinkle’s decision ultimately allowed same-sex couples to start getting married in Florida in January.

The appeals court in February put the Florida appeal on hold because of the then-pending U.S. Supreme Court case that involved gay-marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. The February order also directed the parties in the Florida case to notify the court 21 days after a Supreme Court ruling about any remaining issues. The state complied with that directive by filing the motion Friday.

“Appellants (state officials and the Washington County clerk of court) respectfully state in response to the court’s inquiry that no issues remain pending in these appeals,” the document said. Bondi made clear after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Florida would comply. “We have always sought finality on this important constitutional issue, and today the United States Supreme Court provided the clarity our state and country was seeking,” she said at the time. “Legal efforts were not about personal beliefs or opinions, but rather, the rule of law. The United States Supreme Court has the final word on interpreting the Constitution, and the court has spoken.”

by The News Service of Florida

Comments

28 Responses to “Florida Quietly Ends Appeal In Same-Sex Marriage Case”

  1. A Mom on July 21st, 2015 10:54 pm

    Thanks, grandma & Chris in Molino. @ CW, I may raise my kids to be bigoted as you say, but @ least I’ll be raising them the right way, & help them follow the right path, & if they stay on the right path, they will go to heaven instead of going to hell with the gays, in the end, the gays will realize they did wrong & I hope it’s not to late for them. Nobody is perfect, I know that, but God still loves us & as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc., it is still our responsibility to teach the correct way even though we are still surrounded by gays & such. I may mess up everyday & ask his forgiveness, but I don’t intend on not raising my kids right, I will continue to lead them the best I can & help them stay on the right path as much as I can, all I can tell you is you might not want to do anything bad in front of my lil ones, because she might just tell you your wrong, although I do teach my kids to respect people, when gays turned gay, they disrespected themselves. After all you know what they say, the truth most of the times, comes from the mouths of babes. God still can punish like he did in the Bible, I wouldn’t puff my chest too much if I were you.

  2. chris in Molino on July 20th, 2015 7:05 pm

    @A Mom
    Sorry, i no longer attend church regularly because of the gossip, the people trying to do business at church, and the lack of truth spoken. A lot of pastors are like politicians.
    When i did go, i went to Molino First Assembly of God (Pugh Chapel) when Fred Stallworth preached. He is now in Bay Minette and just haven’t found one i am comfortable with.
    Victory Assembly has some awesome good people who’ve been trying to pull me in.
    Good luck and God Bless. Thank you.

  3. jeeperman on July 20th, 2015 4:38 pm

    Of course Bondi ended the appeal quietly.
    I do not think Bondi wanted to remind all Florida taxpayers of the millions she spent to resist the inevitable S.C.O.T.U.S. ruling.
    Thus no big headlines because campaign contributors would shy away from such bad news on her part.

  4. southerner on July 20th, 2015 2:10 pm

    The “Supreme Court” did not give “clarity” nor “finality” to the issue. They opened a moral can of worms. SCOTUS does not have the final word on the interpretation of the Constitution when they interpret it wrongly. The Governor, the Attorney General, the State representatives, the Congress, local leaders, and We the People should stand against this ruling.

  5. grandma on July 20th, 2015 12:10 pm

    To a mom: Looking for a pastor that preaches the truth firmly in a loving manner…..Lighthouse Baptist Church Molino, Florida

  6. southerner on July 20th, 2015 8:36 am

    The “Supreme Court” ruling did not clarify the matter. The majority trampled the 10nth amendment, misapplied the 14nth amendment,and was contrary to the laws of nature and nature”s God. They ruled to allow unBiblical and untraditional forms of “marraige” and didn’t even provide a clear, concise definition of their own. Remember, the “Supreme Court ” ruling is NOT the Supreme Law of the land. We The People need to stand against it.

  7. CW on July 20th, 2015 7:47 am

    @A Mom
    “The gays” aren’t going anywhere so you’ll just have to learn to deal with it. Raise your kids to be bigoted all you want, but you’re going to be setting them up to live a difficult life if they ever decide to leave the north Florida sticks. The world is getting more open minded and diverse, just the way it is. An overwhelming majority of young people in this country support marriage for “the gays”. LOL

    @Chris
    Everytime someone doesn’t like something they claim its always “in their face”. Nothing new here.

  8. Kate on July 20th, 2015 6:01 am

    SIN is SIN, if homosexual or heterosexual, sexual relations outside of marriage in the Church is A SIN. You folks call out homosexuals while failing to mention your own SINS. How many women have you laid with out of a pure need for sexual gratification. Are you teaching your children to abstain from sexual relations, if you are, your failing, look how many teenage pregnancies occur. You can’t even control your own urges let alone your children.

  9. Sedition on July 19th, 2015 5:57 pm

    “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”==Declaration of Independence

    Two words for you:

    Civil disobedience.

    It works wonders with a corrupt and tyrannical government.

  10. A Mom on July 19th, 2015 5:20 pm

    @ BooHoo, it is Chris’s & everybody’s business when the gays want to bring their junk to our noses, if you don’t like it, please buy yourself an island & start packing, I’ll help if it means the gays go quicker. @ Chris, I’m totally with you, if you know of a church that has a couple people with a preacher that doesn’t mind letting his congregation & his own, know they’re wrong, instead of one that has 50-100 people with a bad preacher, please let me know, because I do have kids that I’m trying to raise the right way.

  11. Bob on July 19th, 2015 5:17 pm

    And I’ve ordered a Democratic flag to fly in Escambia county. I wonder who’s going to disagree with that.

  12. Gene on July 19th, 2015 4:10 pm

    Reality check… you hit the Nail on the head…. Gay IS classified right along side of Drunkards and Adulterers…. that is where we agree…. But I do not see the rally behind these and lets support these…. Some things you Know are wrong…. JOHN 3:16 IS TRUE, IF Man repents!!!! God is faithful to forgive us… goes for any sin…

  13. chris in Molino on July 19th, 2015 2:12 pm

    @Boo Hoo
    Thank you so very much. You’ve made my point much more concise than i ever could.
    I never had a problem until it was constantly in my face. In my home on the television, magazines, my child bringing it from school, etc. So, “you people” make it my business. Keep it to yourself and there wouldn’t be a problem. Oh no, thats right, you have to be seen and heard. Look at me look at me. Ha !
    New age : ie; buried in some technological gadget so that you don’t notice the person next to you that may just need a hello and a smile to keep from being overcome with depression. Who can’t do without his myface or freakbook addiction (nobody cares what you had for breakfast). You who are incapable of writing a letter without auto-correct. Or cant tell time without digital display. Or those of you that shall perish in eternal fire because you’ve been fooled to think worshipping another mans organ is ok. Boo hoo for you indeed.

  14. Reality Check on July 19th, 2015 1:36 pm

    John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, unless he or she is gay…..I guess I missed that in my Bible. Ignorance. Start talking about adultery and divorce, then we’ll discuss the validity of homosexual marriage. Until then, keep living with sin as all of you already are.

  15. joe on July 19th, 2015 1:30 pm

    Leviticus 20:13 KJV
    If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

  16. Boo hoo on July 19th, 2015 11:54 am

    @Chris in Molino

    Well boo hoo for you! There’s lots of things I find offensive, but ya know what, I deal with it. You don’t have a right to not be offended. And who are you to tell “new age” people (whatever that is) that they weren’t raised with loving and “good clean” parents? You need to worry about your own business and keep your nose out of everyone else’s.

  17. Christopher Viar on July 19th, 2015 11:35 am

    Excuse me, Mark. Actually, the majority of responses, including mine in particular, exactly agrees with the definition you provided of our “democratic republic.” However, the rights of the majority of opinion may and (without prejudice) should, indeed, be voiced and heard under the rights entitled us under the 1st Amendment….and if the voicing of our opinion offend the minority which you defend, let it offend you, the offense is yours, and to ours.
    And, stating that we need to “see a therapist or pastor to deal with your sexual obsessions,” may offend me, but I would rather laugh at your judgement under the inalienable right I have before God, the Constitution, the overwhelming majority of my neighbors, and my conscience. My liberty to do so in no way violates any law.

  18. Mark on July 19th, 2015 11:04 am

    What I see here in all responses except one so far, is the lack of knowledge or ignorance on what a democratic republic is. The United States of America is a ‘democratic republic’. Not a pure ‘democracy’. The framing dictates the protection and representation of the minority from the tyranny of the majority.
    from a Republican, christian judge here in Florida: “it is our country’s proud history to protect the rights of the individual, the rights of the unpopular and the rights of the powerless, even at the cost of offending the majority”
    Judge Luis Garcia

    For the rest of you, see a therapist or pastor to deal with your sexual obsessions. Its not healthy.

  19. Keith on July 19th, 2015 10:11 am

    Regarding Mr. Parker’s comment “I have yet to see where it says, gays and lesbian are a special class of persons”; that is exactly the point. These people are not a special class of persons and therefore are afforded the same rights of every other United States citizen including marriage, inheritance, equal taxation and etc.

  20. Christopher Viar on July 19th, 2015 9:55 am

    It was a 5-4 vote in the Supreme Court, not unanimous by any means. And, personally, 5 of 9 might be a majority in that court which I shall respect according to this country’s “law of the land,” which is still my (and our) country….please do not expect my conscience (and the conscience of a much greater majority of CITIZENS) to be ruled — or OVER-ruled — by the judgement of 5-out-of-9 on a bench foreign to my – and my neighbor’s – convictions. Respect my right to dissent from the opinion of 5-out-of-9, please….and understand that my freedom of conscience is not governed nor dictated by people (particularly 5 persons in this case) I hardly know and/or respect, except that which I am required to do, by law, with a clear conscience.

  21. CW on July 19th, 2015 9:04 am

    “I have yet to see where it says, gays and lesbian are a special class of persons, ”

    @Bo
    So I guess you’re admitting that heterosexuals have been in a “special class” all these years? I think you also are misinformed about what the Supreme Court’s purpose is, they are NOT supposed to “back up” what the people of certain states put into place, they are there to make sure the laws of this land follow the constitution. They did not “make” any new laws, they simply struck down unconstitutional bans that were enacted by some states in recent years.

  22. Michael on July 19th, 2015 8:51 am

    Inter-racial marriage was banned as little as 50 years ago. Times change for the better. The sanctity of marriage is a joke. Divorce rates are approaching 50%. Anybody really think giving homosexuals the right to marry will tarnish marriage? Get real.

  23. Leslie on July 19th, 2015 8:37 am

    @Kate……..then apparently you only read a portion of the Bible.

    The Bible does specifically refer to same sex relations.
    We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. But that still doesn’t give us an excuse for disregarding what’s written in the Bible black and white, regardless of whether we like it or not.

    If you need a reference, feel free to check out Romans 1……..specifically verses 26-32 for starters. There are other references in there as well.

  24. gene on July 19th, 2015 8:30 am

    Kate, SO we now have (No limits in who, what and when… Next is Multiple…. It is already in the works…. I can call myself a Woman and Magically, I am????”)

  25. chris in Molino on July 19th, 2015 7:33 am

    @Kate
    I find it offensive. I find it more offensive in fact, than if someone would burglarize my barn while i weren’t home.
    I’m fairly certain you would not want your young child looking through the pages of a hardcore pornographic magazine. That is exactly how i equate it if not just i see two men or women being gay, but my child or family member. It’s not normal (well nowdays all manner of filth is acceptable), ok it’s not natural. And some of you new age folks don’t know any other way, who weren’t raised by loving parents that were never married to anyone else, who lived a good clean life, i feel sorry for. It hurts my heart. Those that do know but choose to pervert the truth for personal motives are worse than the homosexuals themselves. Then again, some of the bibles have been perverted as well. Most preachers wont speak of some truths because they are aware their members won’t like to hear it. Gotta keep them coming back cause they can still preach some good or at least get money on the plate, whatever they’re motive.
    Just know there is more than you may be aware of to your lives.

  26. kate on July 19th, 2015 6:36 am

    I don’t see what skin is off our noses if gay people get married. Citizens do not have a right to vote something into law that violates other people right to be. That maybe why the Supreme Court voted the way they did. People who call themselves Christians know Jesus’s statements about “why would you take the speck from another man’s eye when you yourself have log in your own. The good Pope Francis even stated when asked about homosexuality, that he did know the person’s heart and could not say anything about it. Voting for no homosexual marriage in the States that brought it up on ballot were doing it for purely political reasons and ya’ll bought in.

  27. chris in Molino on July 19th, 2015 6:25 am

    I still cannot get over the “constitutionality” of homosexuals getting married. Homosexuals were punished by death in these United States of America. The last state to repeal the law as punishable by death was South Carolina in 1873. Even after states abolished death, penalties were life imprisonment, 5-60 years solitary confinement, forfeiture of all wealth with 60 lashings to the back well laid, etc. These were first offenses in various states. Even after 1873 South Carolina’s punishment was 5 years in prison.
    So i get we have to be “civilized” and decriminalize homosexuals wanting to be nasty, but theres NO WAY anyone (other than a homosexual) intented for them to marry and have the same rights as a man and woman. Thus the majority has no say. We have no rights. We have no constitution. It’s what the NWO folks want it to be.
    Bruce Jenner. Pre-recorded, with all these sports figures clapping, music playing to emulate overcoming some huge obstacle was all like a brainwashing infomercial. To make you think it’s ok, it’s cool, etc.
    It’s sick. God bless any of you trying to teach your children right.

  28. Bo Parker on July 19th, 2015 1:03 am

    As acitzen of this state, country, we do not have anybody with a backbone to stand up and fight for what the people put in place. The supreme court is making laws, there not enforcing laws the people of this great nation votes on. They are suppose to back up what we put into place! Its my understanding, we are the ones who put them in office. They should be interpting the law the way the people see it. I have yet to see where it says, gays and lesbian are a special class of persons, my thought it would be different nationalities. Like american indian, whites, black americans, chinese, germans, and so on, that would be my take on the issue.