Not quite, as an appeal is possible. But a federal judge just struck down Utah’s gay marriage ban.
Late Update: I actually spoke too soon. Or perhaps not soon enough. Not only is marriage equality now in effect in Utah, at least for the moment, but at least one same sex couple has already gotten married in Salt Lake City.
In striking down Utah’s same-sex marriage ban today, the Obama-appointed federal judge seemed almost to take pleasure in embracing Antonin Scalia throughout the opinion.
Academic study that the factors tied to voting restriction laws are “basically all racial.”
More happy couples getting hitched by the Mayor #SLC pic.twitter.com/O7k7cMRPeY
— SLC Mayor’s Office (@SLCMayorsOffice) December 21, 2013
[Update: This issue has been resolved. If you are still experiencing problems with our smartphone mobile site please contact us at siteissues at talkingpointsmemo.com.]
A number of you have asked. So I wanted to flag here. We’re experiencing a breakage on the front page of the smartphone mobile version of TPM. (The Editor’s Blog and Livewire is still working.) We’re aware of it and on it. We hope to have it fixed later this evening and we’ll keep you posted on our progress.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals this afternoon denied Utah’s motion for a temporary stay of the federal court ruling which made same sex marriages legal in the state on Friday. (Here’s the actual ruling.) That doesn’t mean the 10th Circuit backs the lower court ruling ruling, only that it won’t prevent more marriages from taking place under the ruling until it hears the merits of the case.
[ed.note: I misinterpreted the Court’s ruling. The upshot is the same. But the reasoning is different. The State of Utah is saying that the district court isn’t moving quickly enough on its request for a stay so it’s jumping up to the appellate court with a request for extraordinary relief. The appellate court is saying, no, you’ve got to follow standard procedure. The request is premature. So they refused to take it up. The upshot is that the ruling is even more narrow and procedural than I realized.]
In practice that means that marriage certificates will continue to be issued tomorrow morning in the state and probably for some indeterminate period after that until the 10th Circuit rules on the state’s actual appeal.
Over at TPM Cafe Book Club today, American University Professor Chris Edelson and author of Emergency Presidential Power: From the Drafting of the Constitution to the War on Terror destroys David Brooks’ recent argument for a stronger president with reminders of what happened with a strong presidency in history:
Roosevelt and the mass internment of Japanese Americans during World War II (Congress and the Supreme Court acted essentially as rubber stamps), Truman’s unilateral decision to make war in Korea, Johnson’s deceptions in Vietnam, Nixon’s nearly successful attempt to turn the presidency into a criminal enterprise operating above the law and Reagan’s involvement in the Iran-Contra affair.
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Thank you and Happy Holidays.