Utah on Tuesday became the first state to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on its law banning same-sex marriage that two lower courts have struck down.
SALT LAKE CITY - Utah on Tuesday became the first state to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a law banning same-sex marriage that two lower courts have struck down.
The Utah Attorney General's Office filed the petition with the high court, saying it has a responsibility to defend the state constitution and its amendments as Utah citizens have enacted them.
'We recognize this litigation has caused uncertainty and disruption and have accordingly tried to expedite its resolution as quickly as possible by filing our petition a full month and a half before its September 23 due date,' Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement.
'Utah welcomes a speedy grant of the petition and a Supreme Court merits decision, as all Utah citizens will benefit when the Supreme Court provides clear finality on the important issue of state authority to define marriage.'
The petition doesn't necessarily mean the Supreme Court will hear Utah's case, Kitchen v. Herbert. The justices could have at least six appellate decisions to consider if they take up gay marriage again in court's next term, beginning Oct. 6.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver overturned same-sex marriage bans in Utah and Oklahoma in June and July, respectively. The 6th Circuit in Cincinnati will hear arguments Wednesday for Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. The 7th Circuit in Chicago is set for arguments on Aug. 26, and the 9th Circuit in San Francisco for Sept. 8.
The 10th Circuit Court found in a split decision that marriage is a fundamental right under the 14th Amendment, and the court ruled that access to marriage cannot be denied to gay and lesbian couples. It was the first federal appeals court to rule on the issue.
'A state may not deny the issuance of a marriage license to two persons, or refuse to recognize their marriage, based solely upon the sex of the persons in the marriage union,' Judge Carlos F. Lucero wrote for the two-judge majority. Judge Jerome A. Holmes joined him.
The court stayed its ruling in anticipation of the state's appeal to the Supreme Court.
In his dissent, Judge Paul Kelly wrote that the Constitution is silent on the regulation of marriage and that power is reserved to the states, albeit consistent with federal constitutional guarantees.
In March 2013, Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity, Laurie Wood and Kody Partridge, and Karen Archer and Kate Call challenged Utah's law against same-sex marriage in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby struck down Amendment 3 last December, ruling that it violates the due process and equal protection guarantees in the 14th Amendment.
Utah appealed Shelby's decision to the 10th Circuit and obtained a stay from the Supreme Court, but not before about 1,300 same-sex couples were married in the state.
Nineteen states currently allow same-sex marriage, while judges in 14 other states have issued rulings in favor gay and lesbian couples having the right to marry. Many of those rulings were stayed as the cases move through appellate courts.
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