Legal News Today

Same-sex marriages may begin in Florida in early January after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Wednesday declined to further stay a lower court ruling that overturned the state's ban on gay weddings.The appellate ruling would permit same-sex couples to tie the knot after the stay expires at the end of the day on Jan. 5, 2015.State officials can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Gay marriage is legal in 35 states, not counting Florida.While gay marriage advocates have had the upper hand in the courts in the past year, a Cincinnati-based federal appeals court on Nov. 6 became the first to uphold gay marriage bans.That decision, by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, created a split within the courts, increasing the chances the Supreme Court will rule on the issue.“I don’t see what they can do at this point to stop it," said Don Price Johnston of Miami, who was involved in one of several Florida cases in which judges have struck down the ban, approved by Florida voters in 2008.The appellate