Utah Attorney General Appeals To Supreme Court For Gay Marriage Ruling

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday for a ruling on the state’s gay marriage ban. The appeal comes after a lower court’s ruling struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Utah is one of several states currently fighting the courts to keep bans on the nuptials.

In a statement to the public Tuesday, the attorney general explained, “My responsibility is to defend the State Constitution and its amendments as Utah citizens have enacted them.”

The Washington Post reports that Reyes added, “We recognize this litigation has caused uncertainty and disruption and have accordingly tried to expedite is resolution as quickly as possible by filing our petition a full month-and-a-half before its September 23rd due date.” He noted that the state “welcomes a speedy grant of the petition and a Supreme Court merits decision.”

Both sides of the gay marriage debate hope for a quick resolution. Proponents of same-sex marriage have been encouraged by a string of 35 consecutive legal victories since the Supreme Court granted federal recognition to same-sex married couples last summer.

Of those decisions, 20 have come from federal courts, 12 from state courts, and three from federal appellate courts.

The Utah attorney general’s petition addresses whether the 14th Amendment “prohibits a state from defining or recognizing marriage only as the legal union between a man and a woman.”

The Wall Street Journal notes that Utah officials announced their intent last month to file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court rather than asking for a review from the appeals court. Utah’s appeal is the first from a state to reach the Supreme Court since the justices struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act last summer, the report states.

DOMA had denied federal benefits to same-sex couples. The justices also ruled on a California case that same day, though they avoided ruling on whether state gay marriage bans were constitutional.

While Utah is the first state to petition the Supreme Court, it won’t be the only one. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herrin announced Tuesday that the state will also appeal to the nation’s highest court. For his part, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway stated in March that defending the state’s ban was a waste of official resources.

The Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to consider gay marriage cases from four states Wednesday — Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Later this month, the Chicago-based Seventh Circuit will review bans in two other states — Indiana and Wisconsin. If the appellate courts rule against the states, then more could join Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes in his petition to the Supreme Court.

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