In Utah, judge's ruling ignites same-sex marriage frenzy

Post Reply New Topic

In Utah, judge's ruling ignites same-sex marriage frenzy
From CNN
Friday, December 20, 2013

Key points:

• A federal judge in Utah – one of the most conservative states in the U.S. – has overturned that state's ban on same-sex marriage.
  
• In a 53-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby determined that the state's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, approved by voters in 2004, was a violation of equal protection and due process rights in the U.S. Constitution.
  
• Within an hour of the decision being announced, same-sex couples started getting married across the state.
  
• Utah governor Gary Herbert has expressed disappointment at the ruling from "an activist federal judge". The state's Attorney-General's office has already lodged an appeal with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
  
• The state has also requested a temporary stay of further same-sex marriages in the state pending the outcome of its appeal. A ruling on the stay isn't expected for a few days.

Last edited by Murihiku on 21 Dec 2013, 4:05 am, edited 2 times in total.

Sorry, I couldn't resist the headline.

But seriously, Utah?

Freedom is as freedom does.

Always good when freedom wins.

I really don't understand why some people get so upset by gay marriage.
What they do in their bedroom is their business.

You get married in your bedroom?

No, but you have your honeymoon in one.

We've haven't heard the last on this. It's just not going to set well with Utah's 60+% Mormon populace and other like minded residents.......

Desegregation didn't sit well with a great many white southerners, either. Still, it stuck.

What i said was that we haven't heard the last from the people of Utah on this matter, not whether it would eventually stick or not.
Only time will tell how it pans out in the end.

Yeah, there are already competing petitions supporting and opposing same-sex marriage in Utah.

Given that the issue currently rests on judicial interpretations of the federal constitution, I wonder what, if anything, the voters of Utah could do to reinstate a ban on same-sex marriage, should they wish to have one again. Maybe they could do a better job of defending the ban in court than the state government has done so far. It sounds like the state's arguments have been less than convincing to date.

Like you said, time will tell.

On another note, two requests to temporarily halt issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples in Utah, pending the outcome of an appeal in the 10th District Court of Appeals, have been denied. The state Attorney-General's office will likely file another request with the 10th District Court of Appeals.

Several Utah counties are not issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples until they hear back from either the Attorney-General's office or the 10th District Court of Appeals. Nevertheless, hundreds of same-sex couples across the state have been lining up – some overnight – for the chance to get married in Utah.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/20 ... for-a-halt

Actually, I am thrilled that the Utah state government is working so hard to overturn this decision. That will likely put it on the fast track to the SCOTUS, where it is highly likely that gay marriage will then be recognized and legal at the federal level.

Yeah, I'd say that's exactly what's likely to happen in the US, whether it starts from Utah or any of the other states with cases pending in federal court. I'll go out on a limb to predict that same-sex marriage might be legal nationwide in the next two years.

...

Back to Utah, and the 10th Circuit Court has denied the state government's request to halt same-sex marriages in Utah pending its appeal. An expedited hearing on the state's appeal will go ahead, although this could take months, which means that same-sex couples who wish to obtain a marriage licence in Utah should be safe for the moment. Merry Christmas to those couples.

OTOH, the state can lodge a request for a stay with the US Supreme Court. This is considered a long shot, though. For one, the request would be heard by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who voted this year to strike down section 3 of DOMA. Any guesses which way she'd rule?

Also, four state counties are still refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples. This may change with the 10th Circuit's decision today. But the state Attorney-General has said that county clerks refusing to issue such licences could find themselves in contempt of court.

That's the thread that runs through all these cases: none of the arguments in defense of banning same-sex marriage are convincing. When put under scrutiny, they all come down to simple bigotry. As things stand now, unless the composition of the Supreme Court changes, these state laws banning same-sex marriage are sure to be struck down. They can't pass even the "rational basis" test.

Supreme Court halts Utah gay marriages pending appeal
From The Salt Lake Tribune
Monday, January 6, 2014

Key points:

• US Supreme Court orders temporary halt to same-sex marriages in Utah, while the state appeals the ruling that overturned its ban on same-sex marriage.
  
• Previously, all counties in Utah had agreed to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, despite some earlier confusion. Now, all same-sex couples are being turned away.
  
• For now, the legal status of marriage licences issued to around 1000 same-sex couples in Utah since late December is in limbo.
  
• Next stop is the 10th District Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, where the state's appeal will be given an expedited hearing. Arguments are due by the end of January.