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 Some weddings would be allowed to start when a stay expires after
Jan. 5 following an order by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in Atlanta earlier this month.
"The Supreme Court once again has spoken, opening the door for
marriage equality here," said Nadine Smith, chief executive officer
of Equality Florida, an advocacy group.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who asked the high court to
block gay marriages earlier in the week, indicated she would not try
to stop the start of marriages.
"Regardless of the ruling, it has always been our goal to have
uniformity throughout Florida until the final resolution of the
numerous challenges to the voter-approved constitutional amendment
on marriage," she said. "Nonetheless, the Supreme Court has now
spoken, and the stay will end on January 5.”
 The high court order came out of an August ruling by U.S. District
Judge Robert Hinkle of Florida's Northern District in Tallahassee,
the first federal judge to strike down the same-sex marriage ban
passed by Florida voters in 2008.
Under the order, gay marriage would be legal in 36 U.S. states,
including Florida.
Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented from the
Supreme Court's decision.
In the past year, gay marriage advocates have largely prevailed in
court rulings but a Cincinnati-based federal appeals court in
November became the first to uphold gay marriage bans.
That decision, by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has been
appealed to the high court, which is likely to announce in January
whether it will hear it and decide on a nationwide basis whether the
Constitution protects a right to same-sex marriage.
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"We’re getting a confusing message from the Supreme Court, so I
certainly hope they will take up the issue and provide some
clarity," said John Stemberger, president of Florida Family Policy
Council, which campaigned for the ban.
The question of where in Florida same-sex couples may wed has been
debated by local clerks of court, who received legal advice that the
appellate court order applied only to one county in the northern
Florida named in the case.
"This should be a clear green light," said Stephen Rosenthal, an
attorney involved in this case with the American Civil Liberties
Union.
(Writing by Letitia Stein; Editing by Chris Reese, Dan Whitcomb and
Bill Trott)
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