SCOTUS Halts Utah Same Sex Marriages

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It was nice while it lasted….

This morning the Supreme Court of the United States halted same sex marriages in the State of Utah.  A District Court Judge found the state’s ban on same sex marriage unconstitutional in December.  In a Keystone Kops set of events, the State’s acting Attorney General failed to make the appropriate request stay the decision, and over 1,000 couples tied the knot over the next few weeks.  The State did request a stay through the 10th Circuit court, but was denied.  Finally, the request went to the high court

 Utah’s request was made to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who is designated to handle emergency requests that originate in the 10th Circuit. She referred the matter to the entire court, which issued the stay without discussion or recorded dissent.

Read the entire article here.

It may be a long road…. it took California 5 years to win back equality once it was taken away by Proposition 8… but equality will eventually come to all 50 states, but who knows when?

 

Editorial – Time To Let Gay Marriage Ban Go, Utah

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An editorial published today in the Salt Lake City Tribune tells the citizens of Utah to let go and let live.  The entire article is worth a read, but here is a snippet:

If Utah’s leaders feel blindsided by those decisions, then they haven’t been paying attention. Same-sex attraction, far from being unnatural, has been around since the dawn of time, and in recent decades mainstream America has come to accept it as something other than deviant. The American Psychiatric Association has considered homosexuality a normal sexual variation, not a mental disorder, since 1973. The Supreme Court in 2003 made same-sex sexual activity legal in every state, and then last June the court took that step of saying same-sex couples have a due-process right to marry.

Younger people by and large take a more libertarian view of same-sex relationships, and that is what has fueled the nation’s shift since Utah passed its ban in 2004.

There are 32 states with laws still in effect banning gay marriage, but only one state has passed such a law since 2006. Since that time seven state legislatures have passed laws to allow same-sex marriage, and three more states did so through popular vote. Court decisions have struck down the laws in another seven states, including Utah. One of those states is California, where state officials stopped defending their same-sex marriage ban when it became obvious where the future lies.

Utah’s ban passed with 66 percent of voters approving it, but it’s a legitimate question whether it would pass today if another election were held. Even the LDS Church has gone from actively participating in the marriage wars to simply explaining its own beliefs and practices.

The tide has turned. It’s time for Utah to turn with it.

Good advice for the 32 states with same sex marriage bans still in place.  Its inevitable… we’ve won…. move on.

Watch: Marriage News Watch for 1-6-14

Matt Baum

 

 

Read How A Federal Judge Destroyed The Utah Gay Marriage Ban

Photo courtesy of Equality Utah

Photo courtesy of Equality Utah

Last week, Utah became the 18th state to allow gay marriage.  a Federal judge appointed by President Obama and endorsed by Utah’s 2 Republican Senators eloquently and completely shredded every argument made by the anti marriage equality defense.  The entire article from Think Progress is worth a read, but one example of Judge Robert Shelby’s decision is below:

Rather than protecting or supporting the families of opposite-sex couples, Amendment 3 perpetuates inequality by holding that the families and relationships of same-sex couples are not now, nor ever will be, worthy of recognition. Amendment 3 does not thereby elevate the status of opposite-sex marriage; it merely demeans the dignity of same-sex couples. And while the State cites an interest in protecting traditional marriage, it protects that interest by denying one of the most traditional aspects of marriage to thousands of its citizens: the right to form a family that is strengthened by a partnership based on love, intimacy, and shared responsibilities. The Plaintiffs’ desire to publicly declare their vows of commitment and support to each other is a testament to the strength of marriage in society, not a sign that, by opening its doors to all individuals, it is in danger of collapse.

Three cheers for equality.  The Utah Attorney General is working diligently to appeal the decision, but for now, over 100 couples have married in the state.

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