Florida is on its way to becoming the 36th state in the US to allow same-sex marriage after the US Supreme Court on Friday the US Supreme Court cleared the way for weddings in the state to start next month.
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2, the Miami Herald reported.
Florida’s Republican attorney general, Pamela Jo Bondi, had asked the Supreme Court to block an earlier ruling by US District Judge Robert L Hinkle in August, which declared the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
In a statement, Bondi’s office said wanted the Supreme Court to interwine to "maintain uniformity and order throughout Florida until final resolution of the numerous challenges to the voter-approved constitutional amendment on marriage."
Twenty-one people challenged the state’s ban on same-sex marriage in two lawsuits.
Hinkle said the law was unconstitutional, though he delayed the effective date of his ruling for almost six months.
A ruling by the US 11th Circuit Court of Appeal in Atlanta on Dec 3 opened the possibility of statewide marriages to start Jan 6.
Earlier this month, Florida’s Broward county judge Dale Cohen overturned the state’s ban on gay marriage for a second time after he vacated his first ruling on a legal technicality.