The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a
lower court's ruling ordering Utah officials to recognize the
marriages of more than 1,300 gay and lesbian couples who exchanged
vows during the 17-day window when such unions were legal in the
state.
Utah turned to the nation's highest
court after a three-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
in Denver denied the state's request for a permanent hold on
recognizing the marriages as it appealed a December 20 ruling
striking down the state's ban on gay marriage to the Supreme Court.
A temporary stay put in place by the
Tenth Circuit expires on Monday.
Utah filed its 81-page application for
an emergency stay with Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who oversees the
Tenth Circuit. She referred the request to the full court. In
January, Sotomayor stayed the first ruling striking down Utah's
marriage ban.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert, a
Republican, called the court's decision “correct.”