Colorado Attorney General John Suthers
on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to set aside a case
challenging the state's ban on gay marriage until the Supreme Court
rules in two similar cases.
U.S. District Judge Raymond P. Moore
struck down Colorado's ban in July and granted defendants' request
for a temporary stay.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in
Denver stayed the ruling pending an appeal.
In Tuesday's filing, Suthers asked the
court to put the case on hold until the Supreme Court rules in two
similar cases challenging bans in Utah and Oklahoma.
In rulings handed down earlier this
summer, a divided Tenth Circuit struck down bans in both states and
defendants appealed to the Supreme Court, which has not acted on the
requests.
“Although a divided panel of the
Tenth Circuit has ruled that Utah’s and Oklahoma’s bans and
non-recognition of same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, those
constitutional questions, which are also at-issue in this case, are
and will remain unsettled until the Tenth Circuit’s decisions in
Kitchen and Bishop become final in one of two ways,
namely: (a) the Supreme Court denies a petition for writ of
certiorari and the Tenth Circuit issues its mandates; or (b) the
Supreme Court grants the petitions for writ of certiorari and issues
final decisions,” the
document states. “Without question, the Supreme Court’s
determination of the constitutional questions concerning same-sex
marriage will directly bear on and control this case. If the Supreme
Court accepts Utah’s and Oklahoma’s arguments, or otherwise
allows those states to enforce traditional definitions of marriage,
Plaintiffs’ claims in this case will fail as a consequence.”
The Tenth Circuit's decision in the
Utah case prompted plaintiffs – six gay and lesbian couples – to
challenge Colorado's ban.
(Related: Florida
appeals court rejects Pam Bondi's request to delay gay marriage
cases.)