Citing an appeals court order handed
down Wednesday, Boulder County, Colorado began issuing marriage
licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
Two couples tied the knot before the
close of business.
Boulder County Clerk and Recorder
Hillary Hall said she acted after the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
in Denver upheld a lower court's ruling striking down Utah's
constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.
She said she would resume issuing licenses at one office on Thursday
and two additional offices on Friday.
“Because 10th Circuit
decisions are binding in the State of Colorado, the precedent
established by Kitchen v. Herbert is applicable to the
same-sex marriage ban contained in the Colorado Constitution,” the
county said in a statement. “Clerk Hall intends to uphold the
fundamental right to marriage now recognized by the 10th
Circuit by issuing marriage licenses to any person who wishes to
marry.”
“Couples across Colorado have been
waiting a long time to have their right to marry the person they love
recognized,” Hall said. “I want to act immediately to let them
carry out that wish.”
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers
said
in a statement, “Any marriage licenses issued to same-sex
couples in Colorado before a final court resolution of the the issue
are invalid.”
“Today's decision by the 10th
Circuit Court of Appeals was stayed by the court and has not gone
into effect in Utah, let alone in Colorado,” he added.
Hall said the appeals court's stay only
applied to Utah.