Utah To Appeal Gay Marriage Ruling To Supreme Court

Utah officials announced on Wednesday that the state will appeal a federal appeals court ruling striking down the state's ban on gay marriage to the Supreme Court, bypassing a full hearing from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

Wednesday was the 14-day deadline for the state to ask for an en banc hearing in the case, titled Kitchen v. Herbert, from the Tenth Circuit.

“To obtain clarity and resolution from the highest court, the Utah Attorney General's Office will not seek en banc review of the Kitchen v. Herbert Tenth Circuit decision, but will file a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court in the coming weeks,” Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes' office said in a statement. “Attorney General Reyes has a sworn duty to defend the laws of our state. Utah's Constitutional Amendment 3 is presumed to be constitutional unless the highest court deems otherwise.”

The Tenth Circuit currently includes Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. Gay couples can currently marry in New Mexico, which is also in the circuit.

William Eskidge, a law professor at Yale University, told the AP that he believes the high court won't act soon, but rather will wait for additional rulings from appeals courts.

“Why make a decision on the Utah case until they see what other circuits are going to do?” he said.

Appeals courts have already heard arguments from cases challenging bans in Oklahoma and Virginia. Additional hearings are scheduled to take place in August and September in cases out of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Nevada and Idaho.