Gay marriage Ban Struck Down in Utah.

[bedstuy]

I agree.  This is the case that will go to the Supreme Court.  I think Windsor vs. United States was the groundbreaking case, but the case from Utah has got to wind up coming before Justice Kennedy and I think he is going to be the fifth vote to repeal all of the marriage bans.

I don't get why people think Kennedy is so rock solid on this issue. Just because he overturned DOMA? Any real conservative would be against DOMA because it violates states rights. The difference is that Kennedy isn't a hypocrite whereas most of the GOP (including Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts) is.

Kennedy also wrote Romer and Lawrence which speak in broad terms about equality under law for homosexuals.  If you read the reasoning of Lawrence and Romer, it's not difficult, but not neccesasry either, to extrapolate to overturning gay marriage bans nationwide.

It in all likelihood applies to Utah and Utah alone.

I thought that it would be up to the LDS hierarchy to decide when same-sex marriage goes legal in Utah. Now it may adjust on its own. So does the LDS begin a gay outreach?

This case applies to Utah.  But, once the Supreme Court decides this case or one like it, the legal reasoning would apply in all the Federal courts nationwide.  If you're going to overturn Utah's ban on Constitutional equal protection grounds, I don't see how you would limit the reasoning to Utah.  What happens when a similar suit gets filed in Arizona?

[Bandit3 the Worker]

This is a great ruling, of course. But it's just a shame the courts don't have enough guts to overturn unconstitutional "right-to-work" laws too.

[Holmes]

This is a great ruling, of course. But it's just a shame the courts don't have enough guts to overturn unconstitutional "right-to-work" laws too.

Well, "right-to-work" was not the question before the court so it's kind of weird to even bring that issue up, unless you're trying to derail the thread into another conversation entirely.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Well, "right-to-work" was not the question before the court so it's kind of weird to even bring that issue up, unless you're trying to derail the thread into another conversation entirely.

I thought this thread was about courts protecting human rights from lawmakers' whims.

[Horus]

I never in a million years expected to see Utah become to the first GOP state to do this, always thought Arizona or Alaska would beat them, but its a wonderful Christmas present nonetheless.

[Brittain33]

I would expect a federal case resulting from accidental bigamy or child custody issues resulting from conflicting laws, not a straight up "you can't ban this" case. I'm less confident in this kind of case than the other kind leading to a good outcome. Ah well.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I'm laughing so much.

And gay couples are getting married NOW.

Are they?  I haven't heard whether or not the ruling has been stayed pending an appeal.  Even if it hasn't been stayed yet, given the time it takes for marriage licenses and the usual waiting period after the granting of a license in places other than Nevada, certainly there were no SSM done in Utah today nor do I expect any over the weekend.  Plenty of time for a stay to be issued before any marriages happen  if the judge or an appellate court wishes to issue a stay.

Simply because of the difficulty involved in putting that genie back into the bottle, I wouldn't be at all surprised if a stay is issued.

[Holmes]

Yeah, first gay couple legally married in Utah:



The DA tried his best to stop it. Failed.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Oh for f**** sake. This is happening in Utah. New Mexico, California etc... Understandable. Utah, Jesus Christ.

I'm really starting to wonder as to who governs.

This, my friend, is what we call "losing."  You're going to be experiencing that a lot on this issue for years to come.

[Oakvale]

RIP America.

[Hifly]

I foresee this ruling doing miracles in helping the Utah State Democrats recover from the depths of their tiny minority... and also helping them hold UT-04.

[Thomas D]

Awww, Aren't they just adorable?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Yeah, first gay couple legally married in Utah:



The DA tried his best to stop it. Failed.

I see a marriage license in that photo, but unless Utah has laws like Nevada's there should be a waiting period before the marriage itself can be conducted.

EDIT: Just checked.  Utah has no waiting period after the license is issued, so yeah with facts being established on the ground, it'll be difficult to undo, not that I was thinking the ultimate resolution would not be in their favor.

[IceSpear]

Awww, Aren't they just adorable?

How dare you. Don't you know how many heterosexual marriages were destroyed the second they received that piece of paper?

[Sopranos Republican]

This is just unbelieveable, I'm speechless. Utah, freaking Utah, about 25 years early if state's rights dictate. Justice has been served today, it's a great day for us all!

[Holmes]

Salt Lake City mayor Becker marrying state senator Dubakis and now-husband.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Oh for f**** sake. This is happening in Utah. New Mexico, California etc... Understandable. Utah, Jesus Christ.

I'm really starting to wonder as to who governs.

...what?

[Hifly]

Salt Lake City mayor Becker marrying state senator Dubakis and now-husband.

Maybe the State Democrats should use this as a campaign poster for 2014 to help them gain (and hold) some seats!

[Holmes]

Line outside of the Salt Lake county clerk's office for marriage applications.

Salt Lake City mayor Becker marrying state senator Dubakis and now-husband.

Maybe the State Democrats should use this as a campaign poster for 2014 to help them gain (and hold) some seats!

In Utah?

[Hifly]

Salt Lake City mayor Becker marrying state senator Dubakis and now-husband.

Maybe the State Democrats should use this as a campaign poster for 2014 to help them gain (and hold) some seats!

In Utah?

Of course- spread it everywhere around the state and see the results!

[Boris]

This is absolutely hysterical. America is such a ridiculous[ly awesome] country.

[Peter the Lefty]

Suck it, bigots.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Oh for f**** sake. This is happening in Utah. New Mexico, California etc... Understandable. Utah, Jesus Christ.

I'm really starting to wonder as to who governs.

In this case, the people govern.

[LeBron]

This is a little OT, but how awesome would it be if a federal judge ruled within the next few days or so that Louisiana's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional? I would love to see that homophobe Phil Racistson get owned by Lady Liberty. Chances are though, they would just scurry on out of the state and move to Arkansas or something.

And I'm so happy for those Utah couples!  Since only 28% of Utahns actually support same-sex marriage, I think this will hurt the Democrats unfortunately for now, but being able to fulfill what seemed like impossible hopes and dreams for those same-sex couples and this country at large beats out state politics anyways. I wonder if this might influence Matheson though to shortly in the future come out in support of it especially since he no longer has to worry about re-election. I might change my mind on my opinion of the guy down the road if he does.

Just from this ruling though, it brings great hope that marriage equality will come to the Ohio ballot in 2014 and will almost certainly pass!

[Hifly]

Mary Landrieu better start praying frantically that this same thing doesn't happen in Louisiana.