The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday put
a hold on an appeals court's order declaring Virginia's gay marriage
ban invalid.
“The application for stay presented
to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is granted, and
the issuance of the mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for
the Fourth Circuit … is stayed pending the timely filing and
disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari,” the
court wrote.
Michelle B. McQuigg, clerk of Prince
William County's Circuit Court, turned to Chief Justice John Roberts,
who oversees the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, after a 3-judge panel of
the court denied her request to stay its ruling.
(Related: Federal
appeals court denies stay in Virginia gay marriage case.)
The Fourth Circuit's order was
scheduled to take effect on Thursday morning. It would have also
affected similar bans in West Virginia, North Carolina and South
Carolina.
McQuigg is represented by the Christian
conservative Alliance Defending Freedom