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| FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2013 file photo, Dan Trujillo, left, and Clyde Peck get married as about 1,500 people gather to show support of marriage equality at Washington Square, just outside of the Salt Lake City and County Building in Salt Lake City. The Supreme Court on Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, put same-sex marriages on hold in Utah, at least while a federal appeals court more fully considers the issue. The court issued a brief order blocking any new same-sex unions in the state. The order grants an emergency appeal by the state following the Dec. 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates gay and lesbian couples' constitutional rights. More than 900 gay and lesbian couples have married since then. |
SALT LAKE CITY
(AP) -- Gay couples in Utah were thrown into legal limbo Monday as the
U.S. Supreme Court put a halt to same-sex marriages in the state,
turning jubilation to doubt just weeks after a judge's ruling sent more
than a thousand couples rushing to get married.
The
justices did not rule on the merits of the case or on same-sex marriage
bans in general, leaving both sides confident they'll ultimately win.
The decision stays in effect while the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals considers the long-term question of whether gay couples
have a right to wed in Utah.
For those
couples who just got married - or were planning their nuptials - the
latest twist in the legal battle clouds what was seen as a cause for
celebration.
"It feels like we are
second-class citizens during the stay," said Moudi Sbeity, who is
waiting to get married until the legal process plays out. "There's also
the fear of the unknown of what might come next."
Sbeity
and partner Derek Kitchen are among three couples who brought the Utah
lawsuit that led to the surprise Dec. 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge
Robert Shelby, who said the state's ban on same-sex marriage violated
gay and lesbian couples' constitutional rights.
State
officials praised Monday's decision to put a hold on things, saying it
should have come earlier. Two previous courts turned down their request
for a stay.
"Clearly, the stay should have
been granted with the original District Court decision in order to have
avoided the uncertainty created by this unprecedented change," Gov. Gary
Herbert said.
The Supreme Court's unsigned
order did not indicate anyone dissented from the decision to halt
same-sex marriages in Utah. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles
emergency appeals from Utah and the five other states in the 10th
Circuit, turned the matter over to the entire court.
Many
believe the Supreme Court will settle the issue for good. Utah Attorney
General Sean Reyes said the court's decision indicates an interest in
Utah's case, and he hopes the justices issue a final answer.
Others
doubt the high court will step in any time soon. In June, the justices
decided not to weigh in on the constitutionality of defining marriage as
being between a man and woman, relying instead on a technical legal
argument to resolve the issue in California and clear the way for
same-sex marriage in the state.
The ruling
Monday doesn't necessarily give any indication of how the justices would
rule on the issue, said Douglas NeJaime, a professor of law at the
University of California, Irvine. He believes justices want the issue to
work its way through normal legal channels before they weigh in.
Meanwhile, the state is trying to determine whether the marriages that have already taken place are still valid
Marriage
licenses issued in 2008 in California prior to the passage of the
state's same-sex marriage ban were eventually upheld by the state
supreme court. But marriages licenses issued in San Francisco in 2004
after mayor Gavin Newsom told city officials to grant them were later
invalidated by the state supreme court.
That
leads NeJaime to believe a court will need to rule on Utah's marriages.
If the Utah attorney general challenges the validity of the licenses as
expected, that might lead to several months of limbo for the couples, he
said.
Jon Davidson, director of Lambda Legal,
which pursues litigation on LGBT issues nationwide, said Utah may
choose not to recognize the marriages in the interim, but predicted the
federal government and other states will honor them since they were
granted in accordance with the law at the time.
For 17 days, Utah was the 18th state to allow gay couples to wed.
More
than a thousand couples flocked to county clerks offices, marrying on
courthouse steps in darkness and celebrating a judge's decision that the
2004 voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in the state was
unconstitutional.
It was a surprising
development in a state where nearly two-thirds of the 2.8 million
residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, and Mormons dominate the state's legal and political circles.
Though the church has softened its stance toward gays and lesbians in
recent years, it still teaches that homosexual activity is a sin and
stands by its support for "traditional marriage."
Shelby's
ruling overturning the state's ban was the first by a federal judge to
overturn a state marriage ban since the U.S. Supreme Court issued two
decisions on same-sex marriage in June.
The
justices at that time struck down a provision of the federal Defense of
Marriage Act that prevented legally married gay and lesbian couples from
receiving a range of tax, health, pension and other federal benefits.
On
the same day, the court left in place a trial court's decision that
struck down California's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
The
action now shifts to Denver, where the appeals court will consider
arguments from the state against same-sex marriage as well as from the
three gay and lesbian couples who challenged the ban in support of
Shelby's ruling.
The 10th Circuit has set
short deadlines for both sides to file their written arguments, with the
state's first brief due on January 27. No date for argument has been
set yet.
Many of couples who have already tied
the knot are choosing to move forward as planned, optimistic the ruling
will be upheld by the appeals court. Alan Britton and his husband,
Nathan London, have already updated their health insurance to show they
are married and plan on filing taxes jointly. They are planning a
wedding celebration in the next month.
"It
makes me uncomfortable," said Britton about not knowing how things will
turn out, "but it's not going to change the way I feel about my
husband."
