SCOTUS: Utah Doesn't Have to Recognize Gay Marriages

The Supreme Court let us down yesterday. They said that Utah isn't required to recognize the marriages of roughly 1,000 same-sex couples there while the appeals are happening.

The NYT reports

The court’s order was two sentences long and said only that a lower court’s ruling “is stayed pending the final disposition of the appeal” by the federal appeals court in Denver.

The marriages took place between Dec. 20, when Judge Robert J. Shelby of Federal District Court in Salt Lake City struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage, and Jan. 6, when the Supreme Court issued a stay blocking that ruling while the decision was appealed.

On June 25, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, in Denver, upheld Judge Shelby’s ruling. Utah officials have announced that they will soon ask the Supreme Court to hear that case, which presents the separate and much larger question of whether there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Friday’s order came in a different case, one concerning the status of what the state calls “interim marriages,” meaning those entered into during that period in December and January when same-sex marriage was briefly allowed.

Utah officials initially sent mixed messages about whether they would recognize the marriages but ultimately said they were “on hold.” Federal officials said they would recognize the marriages.

This too, shall pass

Gary Bauer is Disgusted over the Marriage Equality victories in Indiana and Utah

Good Gay Marriage News from Utah and Indiana

In Indiana, U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Young ruled that Indiana’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional.

Then in Utah, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down Utah's gay marriage ban. However, the court has granted a stay pending appeal to the Supreme Court.

This is fascinating to see as we continue to win on marriage equality. Can't wait to hear what the haters say

Judges seem Divided over Utah's Gay Marriage Case

Today, judges on a federal appeals court panel seemed to be divided on whether to uphold a lower court's ruling that stifled Utah's gay marriage ban. This case could change the course of things to come.

This is what I got from ABC News:

One of the three judges, Carlos F. Lucero, compared the state's argument that the ban should stand to the U.S. Supreme Court's infamous Dred Scott decision that denied citizenship and constitutional protections to blacks before the Civil War.

"To argue that public policy can trump a declared constitutional right would be a remarkable proposition," Lucero said.

But Judge Paul J. Kelly Jr. suggested Utah does have the right to reaffirm what has been a centuries-long tradition of heterosexual marriage.

"You are just taking the position they are wrong on this. .... We'll just ignore what the people have decided and the Legislature has done," Kelly said.

The swing vote in the case appeared to be Judge Jerome A. Holmes, who had pointed questions for both sides. He at one point compared Utah's same-sex marriage ban to Virginia's ban on interracial marriages that was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1967.

But in addressing the plaintiffs' attorneys, Holmes said gay marriage is a new and novel concept. He challenged them to explain why the state's voters should be prevented from defining marriage the way they want.

The hearing comes after a remarkable winning streak for gay marriage supporters, who in the past nine months persuaded federal judges to strike down eight states' bans on gay marriage or on recognizing gay marriages from elsewhere.

Those rulings, including the Utah one under discussion Thursday and a similar one in Oklahoma that will be heard before the same panel next week, came after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act last summer. The high court found that the law violated gay couples' due process rights by preventing the federal government from recognizing their marriages.

More to come

source

12-Year-Old speaks out for Marriage Equality in Utah

Brian Brown whines about DOJ's decision on Utah

"It is outrageous that the Justice Department would move so brazenly and publicly to undermine Utah's standing constitutional provision regulating marriage as the union of one man and one woman. It is the right of states to determine marriage, and the voters and legislature of Utah have done just that. Their right to do so is encoded in the U.S. Constitution, and was explicitly upheld by the Supreme Court this summer in the Windsor decision. But with this move, the Department of Justice under this Administration signals that it simply has no regard for the Constitution and the rule of law. On Wednesday, the State of Utah had issued its own determination that it would not recognize the same-sex marriages which had taken place there between the decision by a federal judge to strike down Utah's marriage amendment and the Supreme Court's order to stay that decision. The Governor of Utah announced this in a letter from his Chief of Staff to cabinet officials which explained that "state recognition of same-sex marital status is ON HOLD until further notice." The Justice Department's edict today expressly contradicts the determination of Utah's Governor and Attorney General, and represents one of the most significant overreaches of federal authority imaginable. Furthermore, Attorney General Eric Holder is now doing the very thing that the Supreme Court in Windsor v. United States held the federal government could not do - use a definition of marriage for federal law purposes that did not respect the policy choices made by the individual states. This determination should be reversed if the State of Utah's sovereignty-or really any state's-is to be upheld and respected."

source

Eric Holder to Utah: Recognize Same-Sex Marriage - VIDEO

Utah's State agencies will not Recognize Same-Sex Marriages

Oh no!

The Utah governor will not recognize any of the gay marriages until further notice.

Utah's state offices aren't declaring those unions void, but they will not take action that would give any legal recognition to them. So at this point, all of those couples' marriages are in limbo. This has to be a devastating blow to them. But hopefully, all of this will be over soon.

Stay strong, Utah!

source

Supreme Court halts Utah's Same-Sex Marriage

This morning, the Supreme Court has halted same-sex couples from getting marry in Utah. They presented no reason.

At this time, everyone will have wait for a pending appeal to the Tenth Circuit. Then, the case would go back to the Supreme Court.

More to come on this story

Utah Sheriffs call for an Uprising against Gay Marriage - VIDEO

This Fool is going to Fast until Utah stop issuing Marriage Licenses to Gay Couples

Haters in Utah takes the Anti-Gay Marriage battle to the Supreme Court

The haters won't let up.

Before the new year, they filed papers asking Justice Sonia Sotomayor to overturn the gay marriage decision.

Now, she can make the decision herself or ask the courts to assist her. I hope she handles it and grants the haters nothing.

Read the filing here

In Utah: Haters are willing to spend 2M to defend the Gay Marriage Ban

AG Sean Reyes

Since they can't accept defeat, haters in Utah will still try to fight Judge Robert Shelby's ruling striking down the state's gay marriage ban.

Even if it cost the state $2 million dollars.

The new AG Sean Reyes plans to hire outside counsel to fight the judge's ruling. He also wants additional attorneys to seek a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court. The state's GOP leadership has told Sean to do whatever it takes to make this happen.

These haters are relentless. To waste tax payers money over this is completely stupid. I mean, the ban was found unconstitutional, why are they trying to keep it going? Seriously, haters, have a seat.

source

Stay Denied, Gay Marriages continue in Utah

The haters tried to get a stay placed on Marriage Equality in Utah. Actually, they tried twice! But they lost... egg all in the faces.

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby listened to state attorneys argue that gay marriages in Utah may be irreparably harmed if the judge's ruling was overturned, but after an hour, the judge was over it. He denied their request and the marriages continue to happen.

You can read the denial here and more of the story is here

Brian Brown whines about Utah

"This ruling is a travesty of justice. The voters of Utah made their will in this matter perfectly clear less than 10 years ago when adopting an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. This ruling should concern every American who cares about the rights of citizens and their involvement in determining the laws that govern us. This trend of vetoing the voters from the bench must be stopped. We appreciate Attorney General Tarbet's swift action in seeking a stay of this decision and his commitment to appeal the ruling to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. The rush to issue same-sex ‘marriage' licenses in Salt Lake County before the ink is even dry on Judge Shelby's decision is unseemly and an insult to the people. This is one of the most important issues facing the state and country. The constitution of the United States is not changed because a single judge says it should be. This critical matter needs to be considered by the higher courts immediately."

Bitch, bye.

source

In Utah: Gay Newlyweds

With Troy and Senator Jim Dubakis who also got married today. :) and my husband. I like how that sounds. pic.twitter.com/jFN3493H5i

— Seth Anderson (@jsethanderson) December 21, 2013

Federal judge strikes down Utah’s Gay Marriage Ban

Well, look a here!

A federal judge in Utah just struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage! U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby said the law is unconstitutional and it needs to go. You know this is big, because this is UTAH. I can't wait to hear NOM and the other haters whine and cry.

More to come

In Utah: Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Bill Passes Senate, prohibit discussions on Homosexuality - WATCH

Mess


source

READ Rep. LaVar Christensen's Horrid HB270

Hater and asshole, Rep. LaVar Christensen introduced the crappy bill called, HB270. This bill would drive home the notion that marriage is between a man and a woman and require all publicly funded programs and laws to ignore all gay families.

Here's the bill
HB270
LGBT FYI notes key parts:

The bill states that a married father and mother and their children are the “fundamental unit of society,” echoing language found in the LDS Church’s “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

The bill adds, “Marriage and family predate all governments and are supported by and consistent with the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God, the Creator and Supreme Judge of the World, affirmed in the nation’s founding Declaration of Independence.”

Gay Student Groups increase in Utah City

This is great news to kick off the year. More gay student orgs. are growing in Utah City.

Some disapproving classmates called members of the new club “Satanists.” Another asked one of the girls involved, “Do you have a disease?”


But at three local high schools here this fall, dozens of gay students and their supporters finally convened the first Gay-Straight Alliances in the history of this conservative, largely Mormon city. It was a turning point here and for the state, where administrators, teachers and even the Legislature have tried for years to block support groups for gay youths, calling them everything from inappropriate to immoral.


The new alliances in St. George were part of a drastic rise this fall in the number of clubs statewide, reflecting new activism by gay and lesbian students, an organizing drive by a gay rights group and the intervention of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has threatened to sue districts that put up arbitrary hurdles. Last January, only 9 high schools in Utah had active Gay-Straight Alliances; by last month, the number had reached 32.

That's good. Hopefully, these groups motivate and inspire the gay students to stick together and stay strong.

source