[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] on Wednesday declined to further stay a lower court’s ruling that overturned Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage. The ruling would allow same-sex marriage to begin in Florida when the stay expires after January 5. In August a US District Judge for the Northern District of Florida found the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional [JURIST report]. State officials can appeal to the US Supreme Court [official website]. Currently pending at the Supreme Court are cases involving bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Louisiana.

Earlier this week South Carolina officials indicated that they would appeal [JURIST report] a recent decision legalizing same-sex marriage directly to the US Supreme Court, bypassing the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Last month the Supreme Court refused [JURIST report] a request to block same-sex marriages in South Carolina, making it the thirty-fifth US state where same-sex marriage is legal. Earlier in November a judge for the US District Court for the District of South Carolina [official website] ordered [JURIST report] state officials to stop enforcing South Carolina’s same-sex marriage ban. In October of this year the Supreme Court denied [JURIST report] seven pending same-sex marriage appeals, rejecting calls for a nationwide ruling on same-sex marriage and effectively legalizing same-sex marriage in those states.