In Florida: Gay marriage stay lifted in Miami-Dade County

So much drama in Florida over gay marriage.

Finally, the judge lifts the stay in Miami-Dade County.

Here's more

Miami-Dade County will become the first place in Florida to allow same-sex couples to marry on Monday, 13 hours before a gay-marriage ban that has been ruled unconstitutional is lifted in the rest of the state.

In an 11 a.m. hearing, Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel lifted the legal stay she had placed on her sweeping July decision declaring the ban discriminatory. Clerk of Courts Harvey Ruvin has said he will allow same-sex marriages to begin immediately.

Elsewhere in Florida, most court clerks will start marrying gay couples Tuesday — some of them at 12:01 a.m. — following a federal judge's order. Several counties in conservative North Florida have stopped marrying people altogether, in part to avoid marrying same-sex couples.

U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle of Tallahassee declared the state ban unconstitutional in August, but stayed his decision through Monday to let legal appeals run their course. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Republican, sought extensions of the stay from the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, but both turned her down.

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