Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on
Friday appealed several of the cases which have struck down the
state's ban on gay marriage.
Four state judges and a federal judge have
ruled the ban, approved by voters in 2008, invalid.
The state argued that Florida has the
right to define marriage and that voters, not courts, should have the
final say on the issue.
In one filing, Bondi argues that the
issue is not whether prohibiting gay couples from marrying is a good
policy for the state.
“Florida's marriage laws satisfy the
deferential rational-basis standard,” the
brief states. “Rational-basis review is not about 'the wisdom,
fairness, or logic of legislative choices.' … The question is not
whether the policy is a good one; the question is whether the
challenged legislation rationally relates to a legitimate state
interest. … Moreover, a state has 'no obligation to produce
evidence to sustain the rationality of a statutory classification.'”
Judges in four Florida counties –
Palm Beach, Monroe, Miami-Dade and Broward – have sided with
plaintiffs. Federal Judge Robert L. Hinkle declared the ban
unconstitutional on August 21.
Bondi, a Republican, has previously
stated that she's
just doing her job in defending the ban.