A Thousand Marriages in Utah Are Now in Question

Supreme Court put a hold on same-sex marriages in the state.

The Supreme Court has issued a temporary hold on same-sex marriages in Utah. Marriage licenses to couples will be on hold as well. The state had been issuing licenses since federal judge Robert Shelby declared the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional in a Dec. 20 decision. The status of some 1,000 same sex marriages that have occurred since the ruling remains unclear.

After Dec. 20, traditional-marriage advocates sent Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor a plea asking for a hold. But as The Washington Post explains, "The question of whether states may ban same-sex marriage is not before the Court in Utah's request for a stay; the case concerns only whether the marriages should be stopped while the case is further litigated."

According to SCOTUSblog, "The Court's order will keep the state ban intact until after a federal appeals court has ruled on it."