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Utah gay marriage supporters urge US supreme court to reject ban request Utah gay marriage supporters urge US supreme court to reject ban request
(about 2 hours later)
Lawyers for same-sex couples in Utah pushed on Friday for gay weddings to continue in the state as officials challenged a federal judge’s ruling which allows same-sex marriage.Lawyers for same-sex couples in Utah pushed on Friday for gay weddings to continue in the state as officials challenged a federal judge’s ruling which allows same-sex marriage.
The filing to supreme court justice Sonia Sotomayor came after Utah attorney general Sean Reyes moved on Tuesday to halt same-sex marriages while Utah appeals the lower-court ruling that declared its ban on gay weddings unconstitutional.The filing to supreme court justice Sonia Sotomayor came after Utah attorney general Sean Reyes moved on Tuesday to halt same-sex marriages while Utah appeals the lower-court ruling that declared its ban on gay weddings unconstitutional.
In the court filing, lawyers for the same-sex couples represented in the case said the stay would violate their clients’ right to equal protection under the law as represented by the 14th amendment of the US constitution. More than 900 couples have got married in the state since the ban on gay weddings was lifted.In the court filing, lawyers for the same-sex couples represented in the case said the stay would violate their clients’ right to equal protection under the law as represented by the 14th amendment of the US constitution. More than 900 couples have got married in the state since the ban on gay weddings was lifted.
In late December an appeals court denied Utah’s request for a temporary stay while it makes its appeal. The state is now asking for a stay that had been denied by “both the district court and the court of appeals,” wrote James Magleby of Magleby & Greenwood, counsel for the respondents, in the filing. In late December an appeals court denied Utah’s request for a temporary stay while it makes its appeal. The state is now asking for a stay that had been denied by “both the district court and the court of appeals”, wrote James Magleby of Magleby & Greenwood, counsel for the respondents, in the filing.
“Applicants have not cited a single case in which the court has granted a stay of a district court order pending appeal when the appellate court has already denied a stay under circumstances even remotely similar to the circumstances here because this case is not an ‘exceptional case’ warranting a stay,” the filing states.“Applicants have not cited a single case in which the court has granted a stay of a district court order pending appeal when the appellate court has already denied a stay under circumstances even remotely similar to the circumstances here because this case is not an ‘exceptional case’ warranting a stay,” the filing states.
Reyes, the state's newly sworn-in attorney general, filed the petition to stay marriages on New Year's eve arguing that Sotomayor – who oversees requests from the 10th Circuit, which includes Utah – should grant a stay in part because unwinding those marriages should the appeal be successful would cause "enormous disruption". Reyes, the state's newly sworn-in attorney general, filed the petition to stay marriages on New Year's eve arguing that Sotomayor – who oversees requests from the 10th circuit, which includes Utah – should grant a stay in part because unwinding those marriages should the appeal be successful would cause "enormous disruption".
Reyes is appealing a decision by district judge Robert Shelby last December that found Utah's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Sotomayor could directly rule on Utah's request for a stay, or she could refer the issue to the full supreme court, forcing it to consider the constitutionality of gay marriage, a move it carefully avoided in its landmark, but narrowly defined, ruling on same sex marriage last year. Reyes is appealing a decision by district judge Robert Shelby last December that found Utah's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Sotomayor could directly rule on Utah's request for a stay, or she could refer the issue to the full supreme court, forcing it to consider the constitutionality of gay marriage, a move it carefully avoided in its landmark, but narrowly defined, ruling on same-sex marriage last year.
“I think the voice of the people was clear. It’s my job not to speculate about political or social issues, but legal issues. My job and our job as a team will be to continue to defend, legally, the state laws. Beyond that, I think the citizens, regardless of the side of the issue you might fall on, deserve to have the process taken and have final word from the supreme court on this issue,” Reyes told Fox in an interview in late December.“I think the voice of the people was clear. It’s my job not to speculate about political or social issues, but legal issues. My job and our job as a team will be to continue to defend, legally, the state laws. Beyond that, I think the citizens, regardless of the side of the issue you might fall on, deserve to have the process taken and have final word from the supreme court on this issue,” Reyes told Fox in an interview in late December.
Reyes's petition asserts that Shelby's decision interferes with the state's ability "to define marriage through ordinary democratic channels." It adds, "Constitutional rights do not spring into existence by mass political activity triggered by the decision of a single district court judge." Reyes's petition asserts that Shelby's decision interferes with the state's ability "to define marriage through ordinary democratic channels". It adds: "Constitutional rights do not spring into existence by mass political activity triggered by the decision of a single district court judge."
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