Mormon man ends hunger strike over same-sex marriage in Utah... and says he will give up football next time



Trestin Meacham survived for two weeks on water and vitamin tablets

His protest was over a Utah judge's ruling that allowed same-sex marriage



He claimed the ruling was made in an unconstitutional manner

The Supreme Court nullified the ruling, which a federal court will now look at



A Utah man who vowed to starve himself until state officials reversed a ruling that allowed same-sex couples to marry has started eating again, after the Supreme Court put a hold on the decision.

Trestin Meacham, 35, says that next time he will give up football.

Mr Meacham said he was disappointed when U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ruled December 20 that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates gay and lesbian couples' constitutional rights.

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Drastic diet: Trestin Meacham, 35, started a hunger strike to protest a federal court ruling allowing gays and lesbians to get married in Utah



Big gulp: Meacham lived on bottled water and vitamins

The decision came as a shock to many in the state, where two-thirds of voters approved the ban in 2004.

Over the past two weeks, more than 900 same-sex couples have tied the knot as state attorneys were busy trying to put a stop to the weddings.



Mr Meacham, a former Conservative Party candidate for the Utah State Senate, decided to take matters into his own hands, declaring a hunger strike to push for the nullification of the same-sex marriage ruling.

Watershed moment: Michael Ferguson (second right) and Seth Anderson (right) became the first gay couple to get married in Utah December 20 after a federal judge struck down Utah's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional

Rush to marry: More than 900 same-sex couples have tied the knot as state attorneys were busy trying to put a stop the weddings

After the Supreme Court ruling he allowed himself a yoghurt and told The Daily Beast that he promised his fiancée he would only go on hunger strike once.

The case will now move to a federal appeals court and if it backs Judge Shelby he told the website that he’ll starve himself of something far more important than food.



He said: ‘I’m going to make the ultimate sacrifice. I’m going to give up football.’

Meacham wrote on Twitter that he went on a hunger strike to protest at the manner in which the same-sex marriage ruling was made.

He wrote: ‘I am against same sex marriage, but the reason for the fast was the unconstitutional nature of the ruling.’

For 15 days he survived on bottled water and an occasional vitamin.

@JosephsbroHyrum This was a victory, but it was one battle in a long war. The State still needs to nullify this. — Trestin Meacham (@TrestinMeacham1) January 6, 2014

@jordangray I am against same sex marriage, but the reason for the fast was the unconstitutional nature of the ruling. — Trestin Meacham (@TrestinMeacham1) January 6, 2014

Conservative: Meacham, pictured left and right with his fiancee, called the rulling striking down the ban on same-sex marriages a slippery slope



Meacham shed 26lbs off his already sparse frame, forcing him to punch an extra hole in his belt to hold his pants up.

He documented his hunger strike on his Twitter account. On January 1 - Day 11 of his fast - Meacham wrote that he missed Mexican food.

‘You can start a blog and you can complain on social networks until you're blue in the face and nothing will happen but actions speak louder than words and I'm taking action,’ Meacham told the news channel KTVX.

On his blog, Meacham claimed that the state can exercise the option not to follow Judge Shelby's decision.

However, attorney Greg Skordas told KTVX that the state cannot nullify the federal ruling.

‘I cannot stand by and do nothing while this evil takes root in my home,’ Meacham wrote in his manifesto. ‘Some things in life are worth sacrificing one’s health and even life if necessary. I am but a man, and do not have the money and power to make any noticeable influence in our corrupt system. Nevertheless, I can do something that people in power cannot ignore.’

In an interview with The Cultural Hall Podcast, Meacham said that Judge Shelby violated the U.S. Constitution by infringing upon state rights. He also described same-sex marriage as a slippery slope.

Utah so far has made three attempts to have a court bring the gay marriages to a halt. Shelby and the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have already refused to halt weddings while the state appeals what it calls a ‘rush to marry.’

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles emergency requests from Utah and other Rocky Mountain states, is now considering the latest appeal to put a halt on gay marriages.

In its filing last Tuesday, Utah argued that children are best raised by a mother and father in a good relationship.

However, an attorney for same-sex couples insisted that the state's argument has no scientific backing and that denying gays and lesbians the right to marry actually causes severe harm to their children.

Nearly two-thirds of Utah's 2.8million residents are members of the Mormon Church – the dominant force in the state's legal and political circles. The powerful church was also the engine behind California's short-lived ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8.

Though the church has softened its stance toward gays and lesbians in recent years, it still teaches that homosexual activity is a sin and stands by its support for ‘traditional marriage.’

The Monroe, Utah, resident has faced backlash for his staunch opposition to same-sex marriage.