A Colorado judge on Thursday ruled that
the Boulder County clerk and recorder can continue issuing marriage
licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
However, District Court Judge Andrew
Harman said the validity of the licenses remains in question.
Boulder County Clerk Hillary Hall began
issuing the licenses after the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in
Denver upheld a lower court's ruling striking down Utah's
constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual unions.
On Wednesday, Utah
officials announced they would appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
The Tenth Circuit's jurisdiction
includes Colorado, and Hall cited the ruling in explaining her
actions.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers
warned Hall she was violating the law and sued her after she refused
to stop issuing the licenses.
In issuing his 23-page
ruling, Harman noted that Colorado's ban was declared invalid in
a separate ruling handed down on Wednesday.
(Related: Judge
declares Colorado's gay marriage ban unconstitutional.)
“As evidence of the ever shifting
sands, on July 9, 2014, the same day as the hearing on this case, the
District Court for Adams County, Colorado ruled that Colorado's laws
banning same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, striking down the
foundation for plaintiff's action in the case at bar,” Harman
wrote.
While Harman refused to order Hall to
stop, he instructed her to notify all license recipients “that the
validity of their marriages is dependent upon whether a court would
find that Clerk Hall had authority to allow same-sex marriages.”