US: Utah will ask the US Supreme Court to rule on state’s same-sex marriage ban

Jul 09 2014
Written by Katie Dupere

The Utah Attorney General’s Office will appeal the 10th Circuit Court’s decision upholding same-sex marriage directly to the United States Supreme Court.

The announcement made Wednesday means that the state has rejected sending the decision back to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to be heard again by a twelve judge panel.

On 25 June, a three judge panel from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that the state’s current ban on same-sex marriage violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.

The 2-1 decision was the first time a federal appeals court ruled on same-sex marriage, a move that impacted the six states covered by the court: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

A news release by the attorney general’s office stated: “Attorney General Sean Reyes has a sworn duty to defend the laws of our state. Utah’s Constitutional Amendment 3 is presumed to be constitutional unless the highest court deems otherwise.”

Same-sex marriages occurred in the state for 17 days following a December ruling by a federal judge who first struck down the ban.

On 6 January, the US Supreme Court put a stay on equal marriage in Utah, forbidding same-sex couples from being issued marriage licenses in the state.

A Colorado county clerk has made headlines for refusing to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, most recently being sued by Colorado’s attorney general to stop issuing the licenses.