Utah presented the court with five core arguments as to why its case is the best one to settle the question of same-sex marriage once and for all: the state is ardently defending its voter-approved marriage ban, the appropriate officials have been sued and there are no issues of standing, Utah's ban is "representative" of other states' laws, the case address both recognition of out-of-state marriages as well as new unions and "both lower courts concluded correctly that Utah's laws were not based on animus," or prejudice.