Scroll To Top
Marriage Equality

Antigay Fla. AG Won't Pay for Costly Marriage Battle

Antigay Fla. AG Won't Pay for Costly Marriage Battle

Pam-bondi-x400_1

Pam Bondi knew the financial risks of her marriage equality fight but proceeded anyway, equality groups contend.

Nbroverman

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi appealed every decision that overruled her state's ban on same-sex marriage, eventually giving up when the Supreme Court ruled for marriage equality nationwide in June. Florida should now be on the hook for lawyers' fees incurred by the same-sex couples in the state, civil rights attorneys argue, but Bondi is refusing to pay.

The amount owed could be around $500,000, according to an estimate reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

Bondi wrote last week that lawyers defending the gay couples "are not entitled to appellate attorney's fees." The attorney general doesn't want Florida taxpayers to foot the bill, but many say Bondi should have known she was fighting a losing battle and not proceeded with the appeals process.

"Quite frankly, the state vigorously litigated this," Jacksonville civil rights attorney Elizabeth White told the Times. "Now they're saying, 'We lost, but we don't want to pay.' "

Nbroverman
30 Years of Out100Out / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff & Wayne Brady

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.