Utah Same-Sex Marriage Supporters Argue SCOTUS Stay Is Unnecessary

Same-sex couples Natalie Dicou, left, and Nichole Christensen, middle left, and James Goodman, middle right, and Jeffrey Gomez, right, wait in line to get a marriage license at the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office in ... Same-sex couples Natalie Dicou, left, and Nichole Christensen, middle left, and James Goodman, middle right, and Jeffrey Gomez, right, wait in line to get a marriage license at the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office in Salt Lake City on Friday, Dec. 20, 2013. A federal judge ruled on Friday that Utah's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Kim Raff) MORE LESS
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Attorneys for same-sex couples challenging Utah’s gay marriage ban argued Friday that the state’s request for a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court is unnecessary.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys argued in a filing that the issue had already been rejected by two lower courts, so the burden rests on the state to prove that those lower courts were “demonstrably wrong.” They also argued that same-sex couples would face “catastrophic and permanent harm” if the stay is granted and they are unable to have their marriages recognized.

The filing responded to Utah’s Tuesday request that the Supreme Court suspend same-sex marriages in the state, pending appeal of a federal judge’s ruling that the Utah ban on gay marriage violated couples’ equal protection and due process rights under the Constitution.

Filing below, courtesy of Equality Case Files:

13A687 #3 Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Stay by Equality Case Files

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