Utah’s governor Gary Hubert is making sure that all the couples who put forth money, time and a heaping amount of emotion toward legally marrying in the window of opportunity will now have their marriages invalidated.
This is heartbreaking news. After Utah’s LGB couples enjoyed a brief love affair with marriage equality, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state’s request to temporarily block the impact of a federal judge’s recent ruling striking down as unconstitutional a ban on gays and lesbians from legal marriage. That was bad enough. But now the HRC is reporting that Utah’s governor Gary Hubert is making sure that all the couples who put forth money, time and a heaping amount of emotion toward legally marrying in the window of opportunity will now have their marriages invalidated. Following is the news release from Human Rights Campaign (HRC):
Today Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s office directed state agencies not to recognize as valid the legal marriages of same-sex couples performed after a federal court ruled in favor of marriage equality in December. Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president Chad Griffin issued the following statement:
“Today’s decision harms hundreds of Utah families and denies them the respect and basic protections that they deserve as legally married couples,” said HRC president Chad Griffin. “Governor Herbert has once again planted himself firmly on the side of discrimination by preserving the second-class status he believes gay and lesbian Utahans merit. These families deserve better and I have no doubt the courts will soon grant them the justice and equality that our Constitution demands.”
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay in the marriage challenge while the lower court decision is on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Before the stay was issued, more than 1,000 same-sex couples were legally married in Utah.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
