Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has
asked a federal judge to clarify whether his ruling striking down
Florida's gay marriage ban applies to more than one county.
Last week, Lora Bell, the clerk of
court for Washington County, asked U.S. District Judge Robert L.
Hinkle to clarify whether his ruling applies only to plaintiffs or
all similarly situated couples.
“[T]he Clerk requests clarification
as to whether the Injunction requires that the Clerk only issue
marriage licenses to Stephen Schlairet and Ozzie Russ as specifically
set forth in the Injunction, both of whom are parties to this matter,
or if the Injunction requires that the Clerk issue marriage licenses
to all same-sex couples who apply once the stay expires at the end of
the day on January 5, 2015,” Bell stated in her filing. “[T]he
Clerk is uncertain whether the Injunction requires her to issue
marriage licenses to other same-sex couples.”
Hinkle gave the state until Monday to
respond and also invited plaintiffs to weigh in.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued in
their filing that the ruling applies to all clerks because they are
“in active concert with defendant [Surgeon General John
Armstrong].”
Bondi
disagreed, saying clerks were not agents of the defendants (the
Secretary of the Department of Management Services or the Surgeon
General) but are instead “independent constitutional officers.”
“If the Court intends the injunction
to have effects beyond those that appear on its face … the Court
may wish [to] provide appropriate clarification,” she added.
(Related: Florida
AG Pam Bondi named “Loser of 2014”; Labeled “modern day Anita
Bryant.”)