SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) — Utah will not
recognize, at least for now, the marriages of gay couples who rushed to
wed after a federal judge's ruling briefly legalized gay unions in the
conservative, predominantly Mormon state, the governor's office said on
Wednesday.
The state's decision comes as a blow to roughly 1,400 same-sex
couples who tied the knot after U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby
ruled on December 20 that a state ban on gay marriage violated the
U.S. Constitution. His ruling was later put on hold by the U.S.
Supreme Court pending an appeal.
"Based on counsel from the Attorney General's Office regarding the
Supreme Court decision, state recognition of same-sex marital status
is ON HOLD until further notice," Republican Governor Gary Herbert's
chief of staff wrote in a statement.
Utah temporarily became the 18th U.S. state to permit gay marriage
when Shelby ruled for three same-sex couples who filed a lawsuit
challenging a voter-passed amendment to the Utah constitution that
defined marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay on Monday, pending appeal of
the ruling, preventing new same-sex marriages from being performed
in the state. Following that decision, married same-sex couples who
wed after Shelby's decision expressed concern the state might not
recognize their marriages as valid.
Shelby's ruling had jolted many of Utah's 2.8 million residents,
nearly two-thirds of whom are members of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, which teaches that traditional marriage is an
institution ordained by God.
"I'M HURT"
Las Vegas couple Reed Abplanalp-Cowan and Gregory Abplanalp-Cowan
came to Utah to wed because they own property and two businesses in
the state. They have three children adopted in other states and are
trying to adopt a fourth — a girl — from Utah, which bars gay
couples from adopting.
"I'm hurt, very hurt," said Reed Abplanalp-Cowan hours after the
announcement. "I'm sad for my family personally. I'm sad for the
impact on my children."
Salt Lake City couple Paul and Tony Butterfield married in
California in 2008 but their union was not recognized in Utah, and
on December 23 they wed again in that state. They called their
attorney on Wednesday seeking advice about what to do, as did the
Abplanalp-Cowans.
"For the governor to just overturn a court-mandated judgment just
blows my mind," said Paul Butterfield, who is raising 11-year-old
twin boys with his partner of 18 years.
The American Civil Liberties of Utah, which supports the effort to
bring gay marriage to the state, expressed disappointment in Utah's
decision not to recognize the weddings performed in recent weeks.
The governor's office, in explaining how the state would handle the
existing marriages, said state agencies should follow "current laws
that prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages."
As an example of how the policy would be applied, it said that if a
married same-sex couple in Utah had already changed their names on
their drivers' licenses the changes would not be revoked, but such
couples would not be able to now apply to change their names on the
state-issued identification.
Salt Lake City-based family law attorney Tanya Peters said she
thinks Utah acted irresponsibly, saying she had expected Utah to ask
the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify the scope of its stay order before
deciding it would not recognize same-sex marriages.
"Now what happens is that the state of Utah has opened itself up to
civil rights lawsuits," said Peters, who said she has already been
called by both gay friends and clients seeking advice. "You can't
just simply wave a wand and say those marriages don't exist."
Bill Duncan, director of the conservative Marriage Law Foundation in
Utah, said he was not surprised by Utah's decision. "I don't know
that the governor had many options. That period during which there
was no (judicial) stay issued created a lot of uncertainty," he
said.
University of Utah law professor Clifford Rosky said the state's
decision could leave gay couples and their families in limbo for
months, if not years, by interrupting applications for health
insurance or retirement benefits for state employees and halting
adoption petitions of some families.
"This is an unprecedented step, which inflicts severe harm on more
than 1,000 families," Rosky said. "The state has not been harmed at
all by recognizing these marriages, but the harm to these families
as a result of having the protections of marriage taken away is
devastating."
It is not known how many Utah couples sought benefits from state or
federal agencies or private entities like banks or insurance
companies over the past few weeks. Herbert's office said it has
directed state agencies not to proceed with granting any new
requests for benefits from newly married gay couples. There was no
word on what would happen to requests already pending.
Rosky said federal agencies and private companies could decide on
their own whether to grant marriage benefits.
"It would be hard for me to believe that the federal government
would not recognize these marriages," he said. "They were authorized
by a federal court order and issued in accordance with Utah law at
the time."
(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Cynthia Johnston,
Bernadette Baum, Steve Orlofsky and Cynthia Osterman)
The state's decision comes as a blow to roughly 1,400 same-sex
couples who tied the knot after U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby
ruled on December 20 that a state ban on gay marriage violated the
U.S. Constitution. His ruling was later put on hold by the U.S.
Supreme Court pending an appeal.
