A federal appeals court late Friday ruled that a stay requested by the State of Utah will expire and the State will have to recognize the legal civil marriages of about 1300 same-sex couples performed in December and January — unless the Supreme Court intervenes.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals tonight ruled against the State of Utah’s request for a stay on a lower court’s ruling that forces the State of Utah to recognize the legal marriages of 1300Â same-sex couples who married in December and January.
“Utah was required to demonstrate how allowing married same-sex couples to apply for spousal benefits would cause ‘irreparable harm absent a stay’ and a likelihood of success on their appeal,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports tonight. “The court ruled Friday it had not done so.”
If the high court does not act to impose a stay in the Evans v. Utah lawsuit, gay and lesbian couples married in Utah may begin to apply for in-state benefits, which includes second-parent adoption rights.
The 10th Circuit did stay its ruling to give Utah time to petition Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who has jurisdiction over Utah. Utah now has ten days to obtain a stay from the Supreme Court. If it fails to do so, 1300 same-sex couples will have their marriages recognized by the State of Utah.
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This article has been updated for clarity.
Image: J Seth Anderson and his husband, Michael Adam Ferguson, the first same-sex couple to marry in the state of Utah. Photo via Facebook