Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Supreme Court halted Utah's same-sex weddings while the state presses an appeal, reducing the number of states with gay marriage to 17 and slowing the drive toward nationwide rights.
The two-sentence order, which came without published dissent, puts on hold a federal trial judge's ruling that the U.S. Constitution guarantees marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The trial judge's first-of-its-kind decision brought the issue of gay marriage back to the Supreme Court less than a year after the justices dodged the question in a pair of cases.
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Although today's order doesn't directly address whether the Constitution confers same-sex marriage rights, it raises new questions about the court's readiness to legalize gay weddings nationwide.
Hundreds of gay couples have married in Utah since the federal judge ruled Dec. 20 that the state's ban violated the Constitution.
The trial court ruling overturned a state constitutional amendment, approved in 2004 with 66 percent of the vote. The state's ban is being challenged by three same-sex couples, including one seeking to have Utah recognize a marriage performed in Iowa.
U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby said the state's laws "deny its gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry and, in so doing, demean the dignity of these same-sex couples for no rational reason." The ruling temporarily made Utah the 18th state to recognize gay marriage.
Both Shelby and a Denver-based federal appeals court refused to block his ruling during the appeal, prompting Utah to seek emergency intervention from the nation's highest court.
Today's order came after Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles emergency matters from that part of the country, referred the matter to the full nine-member court.
The case is Herbert v. Kitchen, 13A687.
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