White House Press Secretary Jay Carney
on Tuesday said that the administration has no comment on a case in
Utah that allowed more than 1,300 gay couples to marry before the
Supreme Court acted on Monday.
“We have no comments on the specifics
of this case because the United States government is not a party to
this litigation,” Carney
told reporters in response to an inquiry by gay weekly the
Washington Blade. “But speaking broadly, as you know, the
president's views on marriage equality are well-established.”
“He believes that loving, committed
gay and lesbian couples that want to get married and have access to
the full benefits, protections and obligations that marriage brings
should be able to do so,” Carney said. “He has also long opposed
divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to
same-sex couples, and he believes strongly that protections shouldn't
be taken away from gay and lesbian couples who want to take care of
their families.”
In what appeared to be a unanimous
decision, the Supreme Court granted a stay in Kitchen v. Herbert,
the case in which a federal judge on December 20 struck down Utah's
2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment limiting marriage to
heterosexual couples.
(Related: Gay
rights groups respond to SCOTUS gay marriage decision.)