Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Brian
Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM),
have applauded a Supreme Court ruling halting gay marriage in Utah.
Justices on Monday appeared united in
granting a stay to a December 20 ruling striking down Amendment 3,
Utah's 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment limiting marriage
to heterosexual unions, until the 10th Circuit Court of
Appeals in Denver reviews the case.
“The Supreme Court made the correct
decision to stay Judge Shelby's ruling in the Amendment 3 case,”
Herbert, a Republican, said in a statement. “Clearly, the stay
should have been granted with the original District Court decision in
order to have avoided the uncertainty created by this unprecedented
change. As I have said all along, all Utahns deserve to have this
issue resolved through a fair and complete judicial process. I
firmly believe this is a state-rights issue and I will work to defend
the position of the people of Utah and our State Constitution.”
Brown, who heads the nation's most
vociferous organization opposed to marriage equality, also applauded
the high court's move.
“It was outrageous that this brazen
judge appointed by President [Barack] Obama would substitute his
views for the sovereign decision made by both the Utah Legislature
and the people of the state, who voted overwhelmingly in favor of
defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” Brown
said in a blog post. “The decision by a single federal judge
to redefine marriage in Utah is lawless, and we are pleased that the
Supreme Court has put this decision on hold to allow the state to
appeal it in an orderly fashion.”
Brown used the occasion to once again
call for passage of a federal amendment which would exclude gay
couples from marriage.
“Everyone in America should be
concerned to see how easily activist judges can cavalierly toss out
the will of overwhelming majorities of legislators and voters alike,”
Brown said. “It's becoming increasingly clear that the people of
America need to reclaim their sovereignty and amend the US
Constitution to protect marriage as the union of one man and one
woman.”