Supreme Court Chief Justice John G.
Roberts Jr. on Friday called for a response by Monday to a clerk's
request to stay an appeals court's ruling striking down Virginia's
ban on gay marriage.
Michelle B. McQuigg, clerk of Prince
William County's Circuit Court, turned to the Supreme Court after a
3-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond
denied her request to stay its ruling.
(Related: Federal
appeals court denies stay in Virginia gay marriage case.)
Without the Supreme Court's
intervention, gay and lesbian couples could start marrying as early
as Thursday. The decision would also affect similar bans in West
Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The high court set a Monday, August 18
deadline for plaintiffs to respond to McQuigg's request.
McQuigg is represented by the Christian
conservative Alliance Defending Freedom