Deadline for gay marriage briefs was Monday

Gay couples whose challenge to Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage led it to be declared unconstitutional say that clerks in all Florida counties should be able to issue marriage licenses to gay couples starting next week.

Attorneys for the couples wrote in a motion filed late Monday that all of Florida’s 67 clerks of court are bound by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle’s ruling that Florida’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional.

Hinkle asked state officials to offer their opinions on the scope of his ruling by midnight Monday night. State officials hadn’t filed their brief as of 8 o’clock Monday night.

The clerks’ association said the ruling only applied in Washington County, the Panhandle county where the challenge to Florida’s gay marriage originated.

Gay rights group dispute that interpretation.