Florida Courts Won't Delay Gay Marriage Appeals

MIAMI - A Miami-based appeals court has rejected Attorney General Pam Bondi's request that two gay marriage cases be delayed until the U.S. Supreme Court decides the issue nationally.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled Thursday that the cases from Miami-Dade and Monroe counties will move forward. Bondi's office appealed rulings from judges in the two counties that declared Florida's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

The decision comes one day after another court, the 2nd District Court of Appeal, asked the Florida Supreme Court to decide the issue statewide. Judges in Broward and Palm Beach counties have also found the gay marriage ban approved by voters in 2008 to be unconstitutional.

A Tallahassee-based federal judge issued a similar ruling but also stayed its effect pending the outcome of appeals.