Richard Wolf

USA TODAY

Justices%2C without comment%2C block marriages pending appeal

More than 900 same-sex couples had wed in conservative state

District judge%27s ruling for gay couples is pending before appeals court

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court put a stop to same-sex marriages in conservative Utah on Monday while the state appeals a federal district court's ruling that had legalized the unions.

The justices, acting on a petition sent to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, ruled that gay marriages cannot continue during the appeals process. The case is pending before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ruled Dec. 20 that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates gay and lesbian couples' constitutional rights. Since then, more than 900 same-sex couples in the state have wed.

While blocking new marriages, the court's order should not throw into question those already performed, argued John Mejia, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah.

"Though future marriages are on hold for now, the state should recognize as valid those marriages that have already been issued, and those couples should continue to be treated as married by the federal government," Mejia said.

Another unanswered question: what happens to couples who received marriage licenses but had not gotten married yet?

Couples have 30 days to have their weddings before the license expires; the official presiding has another 30 days to submit the license back to the county clerk.

The gay marriage case was one of two emergency petitions pending before Sotomayor. In the other case, she temporarily blocked the new federal health care law from forcing a religious-affiliated group to begin the process of providing free birth control. The Justice Department objected, and a final court order is likely soon.

Despite two landmark Supreme Court decisions in June that vastly expanded same-sex marriage rights in states from Maine to California, gay and lesbian couples in 33 states remain outside the bonds of holy matrimony. Utah is again one of those states.

The court ruled in June that gay marriages could resume in California because opponents challenging lower court rulings lacked standing to appeal. In that case, gays and lesbians had been barred from marrying until the appeals had run out, but those who wed following the original 2008 state Supreme Court decision remained legally married.

The justices also struck down a key provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that it discriminated against married same-sex couples by denying the same federal benefits received by heterosexual couples. The reasoning in that more sweeping decision was used by Shelby in legalizing Utah gay marriages.

The latest ruling was heralded by opponents of same-sex marriage. "The decision by a single federal judge to redefine marriage in Utah is lawless, and we are pleased that the Supreme Court has put this decision on hold to allow the state to appeal it in an orderly fashion," said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage.

On the other side, gay and lesbian rights groups criticized the court's order and vowed to press ahead with their battle to win marriage rights in all 50 states.

"The Supreme Court's decision to press the pause button on marriage equality in Utah is a huge disappointment for thousands of loving and committed couples whose marriages are now in legal limbo," said Omar Sharif Jr. of GLAAD, formerly the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

"In the end, justice will be served, and no couple will be excluded from this cherished institution," said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization. "As the marriage equality map expands, history is on our side, and we will not rest until where you live is not a barrier to living your dreams."

In Salt Lake City, the county clerk's office got word of the Supreme Court order shortly before 9 a.m., said Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen.

"We did have an appointment for a same-sex couple scheduled for a 10 a.m. wedding this morning, and we had to call them and cancel it," she said. Her office also canceled two other wedding appointments for later in the week.

"I'm not surprised that the U.S. Supreme Court would do this. They're more conservative," retired Utah state representative Jackie Biskupski said. She performed at least a dozen weddings at Salt Lake City's government center in the days following the original ruling, which struck down the state's 2004 constitutional amendment banning gay marriages.

Across the nation, more than 40 lawsuits seeking marriage rights for gays and lesbians are pending in 20 states. Trials are set for February in Michigan and June in Pennsylvania. A case in Nevada already has been lost and appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In addition to basic marriage rights, some plaintiffs are seeking to adopt children, divorce spouses they married in other states, or avoid inheritance taxes. In Ohio, a federal judge last month said the state must allow gays married in other states to put their names on their partners' death certificates.

Contributing: Elizabeth Weise in San Francisco.