Supreme Court puts gay marriages in Utah on hold

[The Straight Story]

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday put same-sex marriages on hold in Utah until a federal appeals court can rule on whether the state law banning the practice violates the Constitution.

...

The decision will block further same-sex marriages in Utah for at least several weeks. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver, has told both sides in the dispute to submit legal arguments by the end of this month.

The appeals court is expected to hold an argument quickly after the briefs are submitted.

Updated, 8:21 a.m. PST Jan. 6: In late December, a U.S. District Court judge in Utah ruled that that state’s ban on gay marriage violated the Constitution, a major expansion of gay rights beyond what the Supreme Court had ruled in two landmark cases in June.

The judge surprised legal experts by putting his ruling into effect immediately, allowing hundreds of gay couples to marry.

The high court’s decision suggests that the justices were not prepared to allow a single district judge to decide that the Constitution gives gays and lesbians a right to marry, regardless of state laws.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-supreme-court-utah-gay-marriage-20140106,0,1384120.story

[BlueCaliDem]

1. Whoa, wait! Didn't SCOTUS rule that same-sex marriages are constitutional?

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but didn't they overturn Prop H(8)TE that banned same-sex marriages in California and overturned DOMA?

So why now halt same-sex marriages in Utah?

I don't understand.

[LuvNewcastle]

4. I'm not so sure that the Court is against the ruling of the lower court.

I think they're looking for consistency among all the federal courts. I think the Supremes are getting ready to make a ruling themselves on the issue.

[BlueCaliDem]

6. I hope you're right. I hope we can finally do away with this bigotry against our fellow

Americans and that ALL Americans, regardless of race, creed, religious affiliation (or lack thereof), gender, and/or sexual orientation is finally dead and buried for all time.

[Lurks Often]

5. Not quite, SCOTUS ruled that Section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Windsor

They have not unequivocally ruled that same sex marriage was either constitutional or unconstitutional

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollingsworth_v._Perry was a related ruling that stated that the people that brought the marriage is between man and a woman argument lacked the standing to bring the lawsuit.

[BlueCaliDem]

8. You're right. In neither SCOTUS' Prop 8 Ruling nor the DOMA cases,

SCOTUS has made no ruling whether same-sex marriage is constitutional or not. Damn it.

[Faux pas]

2. This is all

serious BULLSHIT. If humans can have basic human rights, then we might as well be any bass ackward third world shit pile. This makes me sick and more than a little nervous.

[LuvNewcastle]

3. The Supreme Court is going to be forced to ruled on the constitutionality of bans

fairly soon, it looks like. I just hope it's on the side of equality. We really can't have certain marriages denied in some states. If a marriage is allowed in one state, it has to be accepted by all states. I don't know if the Court will go so far as to strike down all the state laws prohibiting same-sex marriages in their own states, but it must make those states accept same-sex marriages from other states.

[Lurks Often]

7. In the abstract, this is probably a good thing long term

Having a single US District judge make a ruling, however much we may like the ruling, that impacts the entire country, is probably a dangerous precedent. I expect the 10th Circuit to uphold the judge's ruling and this would more firmly establish same sex marriage as legal across the country.

[LuvNewcastle]

9. I definitely think it will be a good thing if they vote to uphold.

It gives the decision a lot more weight.