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10th Circuit Denies Stay of Same Sex Marriage Recognition Case

The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will not stay a ruling from U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball that ordered the state of Utah to recognize the marriages of more than 1300 gay couples.  

Last month, Judge Kimball ruled that Utah must provide benefits to those couples who were married during a seventeen day period when gay marriage was legal in the state. 

Utah’s Attorney General’s appealed the case to the 10th circuit asking that it stay the district court ruling. On Friday, judges on the 10th Circuit decided not to stay the ruling while attorneys prepare their appeal. But a clerk says the judges will allow the stay to remain in place until July 21st so Utah can have enough time to ask the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay. 

If it’s not granted, Utah would be forced to recognize those marriages while attorneys appeal. In June, the 10th Circuit upheld a different decision that deemed Utah’s ban on same sex marriage unconstitutional. The state’s appealing that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

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