Florida is set to become the latest state to allow same-sex marriage on Jan. 6 -- maybe. The Supreme Court turned down an appeal, but the uncertainty arises because the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Florida, has yet to rule on same-sex marriage. So it depends on how hard Florida wants to fight.
Things have slowed down on the marriage front since the big burst of activity in September. South Carolina became the 34th state to allow same-sex marriage on Nov. 19. Kansas remains in a state of limbo. The state is only allowing marriages in two of its counties as a result of a strange interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court non-ruling against the state. The Kansas AG contends that the court action only affects the two counties because they were the ones named in the appeal.
Next month, Florida should become state No. 35 (or 36 if you count Kansas), but that might be subject to change.
http://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-wont-stop-gay … 16810.html
I can't imagine the justices would allow a situation where marriage rights are allowed in most states, but not in a few -- or would they? But if that were the case, why would they have let federal courts across the land order same-sex marriage rights? It just wouldn't make any sense, but then, according to this court, corporations are people, so anything is possible.
One thing I didn't realize until recently is that the feds are not allowing many benefits (Social Security most notably) unless the same-sex couple lives in a state that allows gay marriages. So there are still very real and tangible reasons to get this done EVERYWHERE. Just going across state lines and getting married isn't good enough.
As for Florida, most likely marriages will start there Jan. 6, but it depends on how big of A-holes officials in Florida want to be. They may have some wiggle room to delay. I don't know what FL politics are like. Anyone have an idea if Florida officials will just accept gay marriage, like many states, or fight to the death, like Kansas?