Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi challenged U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle's ruling last month that declared the ban on same-sex marriage in the state as unconstitutional.

On Thursday, Bondi's office appealed to the federal court to reverse Hinkle's ruling on the gay marriage ban, according to Reuters.

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Last month, Hinkle became the fifth Florida judge to pronounce a ruling against the ban. Voters approved the ban in 2008.

Bondi filed the notice of an appeal on behalf of state Surgeon General John Armstrong, state Secretary of Management Services Craig Nichols and Washington County Clerk of Court Harold Bazzell, News 13 said.

The notice, however, did not specify the legal grounds for the appeal.

Bondi said she is obligated to fight same-sex marriage and has repeatedly released statements against it, the report added.

Hinkle ruled that the ban on gay marriage was a violation of the 14^th Amendment's guarantee of due process protections and equal protection, based on the country's constitution.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), almost 30 state and federal courts have declared gay marriage bans as unconstitutional. The federal DOMA stipulates that marriage could only be between a man and a woman.

Bondi filed a motion to delay a ruling on the issue until the Supreme Court comes up with a decision. However, a state appeals court rejected that motion.

The Second District Court of Appeal in Florida requested the Supreme Court to issue a ruling on the same-sex marriage ban, citing the issue's great importance to the public and its effect on serving justice in Florida.

In what is foreseen as the most popular civil rights case of late, the U.S. Supreme Court will address the issue when it begins its next term in October.

Meanwhile, Equality Florida, which supports a coalition against the ban, said Governor Rick Scott was responsible for moving the appeal forward.

In a statement, the group's Deputy Director Stratton Pollitzer said Scott was a coward who "hid behind" the attorney general and his own workers.

TagsFlorida, gay marriage ban, same sex marriage, Pam Bondi, Robert L. Hinkle