Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on
Monday asked the Supreme Court to stay a ruling that struck down the
state's ban on gay marriage.
Less than two weeks ago, a federal
appeals court refused Bondi's request to block the ruling from taking
effect next month.
Without intervention from the Supreme
Court, gay couples will begin exchanging vows on January 6.
(Related: Gay
couples in Florida may begin marrying after January 5.)
In her application for an emergency
stay addressed to Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Bondi argued
that gay couples would only be allowed to marry in the one county
named in the lawsuit, which would lead to confusion.
“The public interest is not served by
having two sets of marriage laws in Florida or by confusion about the
law,” Bondi
wrote.
Daniel Tilley, a lawyer with the ACLU,
which represents some of the plaintiffs, denied the state's claim,
saying the ruling would apply statewide.
“I don't think concerns about
confusion are sincere or that they in any event overcome the very
real and substantial harms that continue to befall families across
this state,” Tilley
said.