The state will not recognize the validity of marriages that occurred before the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a district court judge's decision overturning a ban on gay marriage, the governor's office announced Wednesday.
In a letter to state agencies, Derek Miller, chief of staff to Gov. Gary Herbert, said those marriages will be 'on hold' while it appeals the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby.
'Please understand this position is not intended to comment on the legal status of those same-sex marriages,' the letter said. 'That is for the courts to decide.'
With a stay in place, the original laws governing marriage in Utah are again in effect.
'Wherever individuals are in the process of availing themselves of state services related to same-sex marital status, that process is on hold and will stay exactly in that position until a final court decision is issued,' the letter said.
However, if couples had already received, for example, new driver licenses reflecting new names, those licenses do not need to be revoked, the letter said. But couples may not now seek new licenses.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes informed the governor that his office had been unable to reach a legal conclusion on the 'ultimate validity' of same-sex marriages performed between Dec. 20, when Shelby ruled, and Jan. 6, when the Supreme Court granted the state's request for a stay.
'That question remains unanswered, and the answer will depend on the result of the appeal process,' Reyes said.
He said a review team has been set up to advise state agencies on a case-by-case basis about what to do now.
'We acknowledge that this is a very difficult situation for many,' Reyes said. 'It was the reason our office sought the stay of the district court's decision immediately. We wanted to avoid the untenable situation in which many of our citizens find themselves. We are diligently seeking certainty for all Utahns through proper and orderly legal process.'
In his letter, Miller told state agency directors that the state's existing law prohibits not only performing same-sex marriages, but recognizing them.
Amy Fowler, 35, who married partner of three years Pidge Winburn, 37, at the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office on Dec. 30, says it was 'heart-wrenching' to have those rights - at least in the interim - taken away.
'Before we were able to get married, we sort of knew ... we knew the line here of 'Here are the things that we don't get. We live in Utah and we choose to live here and so whatever, we'll put up with this. One day it will change,'' she said. 'And then in a blink of an eye, all of that changes. And lo and behold, the earth did not open up and swallow Salt Lake City.'
Fowler says same-sex couples were in the process of evaluating their insurance, taxes and even adoptions, and now, 'We're back to Square One, but with the most devastating feeling.'
The Tribune will continue updating this story.
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Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, January 8, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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