Utah gay marriage law
Kitchen v. Herbert
Three queer couples filed a federal lawsuit challenging Utah’s laws prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying and refusing to respect the legal marriages of same-sex couples who married in other states.
The lawsuit argued that Utah’s laws barring same-sex couples from marrying and prohibiting the state from respecting the marriages of homosexual couples who married in other states violated the United States Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.
On December 20, 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled that Utah’s prohibit on marriage by lgbtq+ couples was unconstitutional. The State of Utah appealed that decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
The couples, who lived in Salt Lake and Wasatch Counties, were Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity, Karen Archer and Kate Call, and Laurie Wood and Kody Partridge. They were represented by Peggy Tomsic of the Salt Lake City law sturdy of Magleby & Greenwood, P.C., Gay & Womxn loving womxn Advocates & Defenders Legal Director Gary Buseck and Civil Rights Project Director Mary Bonauto, Neal Katyal of the law strong of Hogan Lovells, and
Prince Research Excerpts on Gay Rights & Mormonism – “11 – Utah Anti-Gay Marriage Law”
Below you will find Prince’s research excerpts titled, “11 – Utah Anti-Gay Marriage Law.” You can view other topics here.
Search the content below for specific dates, names, and keywords using the keyboard shortcut Command + F on a Mac or Control + F on Windows.
11 – Utah Politics 1.0 – Anti-Gay Marriage Law
1669:
“As the session rushed to a close slow Wednesday night, legislators decided to thrust through a quick bill that would outlaw in Utah same-sex marriages performed in other states or countries.
‘This bill doesn’t change Utah law at all. It is just a precaution,’ said Rep. Norm Nielsen, R-Orem, the bill’s sponsor. The bill was proposed by both gay Republican and Democratic groups. But their contradiction held no sway.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taken a moral position against same-sex marriages, and more than 80% of Utah lawmakers are active members of the LDS Church.
It is already illegal for people of the same-sex to be married in Utah. It is also specifically against the law in 35 other
Court nixes Utah ban on queer marriage
On June 25, 2014, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeal struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. The court is expected to control soon in a similar case involving Oklahoma’s nearly identical 2004 state constitutional amendment that specifies a marriage must be between one man and one gal. The case is on appeal by the State of Oklahoma after U.S. District Judge Terence Kern of the Eastern District of Oklahoma ruled in January 2014 that the state forbid on same-sex marriage violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
McAfee & Taft trial lawyerMichael Smith was interviewed by The Journal Record about the decision and how the appeals court might rule in the Oklahoma case as well. He said he expects the court will reach the same conclusion given that the Utah and Oklahoma cases are so factually and procedurally similar.
“In light of the Supreme Court ruling on DOMA in (United States v.) Windsor, this ruling does not surprise me,” said Smith. “The 10th Circuit relies heavily on Windsor here.”
A number of marriage equality lawsuits are making their way through t
Order Given a 21-Day Stay to Let State to Respond
May 19, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 21-549-2666, media@aclu.org
SALT LAKE CITY – A Utah evaluate ordered the mention today to distinguish the marriages of same-sex couples who were legally married in Utah after a federal court struck down a state ban, but before the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted additional marriages from taking place. Over 1,000 lgbtq+ couples married in Utah during that time period. The couples are represented by American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Utah, and Strindberg & Scholnick, LLC, who sought the preliminary injunction for the marriages to be recognized while their lawsuit continues.
"Our clients, like over 1,000 other queer couples, were legally married and those marriages cannot now be taken away from them," said John Mejia, legal director of the ACLU of Utah. "While we await a permanent conclusion, we are relieved that our clients will receive the full recognition they deserve as lawfully married couples."
Today’s preliminary injunction is not a permanent instruct, but it reflects the court’s determination that the plaintiffs’ are likely to prevail on their legal clai