Take Heart: It's Just A Stay - Not A Decision

A couple of weeks ago, a federal judge declared Utah's ban on same-sex marriages to be unconstitutional. He refused to issue a stay, and hundreds of same-sex couples rushed to marry in the state. Utah appealed the decision to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and asked for a stay of the judge's order. The appeals court refused to issue that stay, saying the state had not shown it was likely to win that appeal -- and the marriages continued.

But now those marriages have been stopped, at least for a while. On Monday morning the U.S. Supreme Court issued the stay requested by the state of Utah. Liberals across the country are disappointed in that, and I understand. I also would have preferred the court not issue that stay. But we shouldn't make too much of it. After all, it's just a stay while the issue works its way through the courts (and probably winds up in the Supreme Court). It's not a decision, and in issuing the stay, the Supreme Court did not give any hints as to how they might decide the issue when it gets to them.

This is actually a pretty normal action the court performed. It is unusual that a court will deny a stay when such a big change will happen. The court simply doesn't want anything to happen until it (or at least the appeals court) can hear the case.

I still believe there is a good chance the judge's decision that Utah's ban on same-sex marriages will be upheld. The appeal's court statement shows they are leaning in that direction. And the judge's decision was based on the Windsor decision issued by the Supreme Court, which ruled the denial of rights in the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. And if the denial of equal rights is wrong for the federal government, I don't see how it can be right for a state government (since all state laws must follow the Constitution).

It's kind of frustrating that we must now wait while this issue takes months to wind its way through the courts. But we must take heart. The fight is far from over and this case from Utah might be the one to finally force the Supreme Court to stop ducking the same-sex marriage rights issue, and finally force the states to comply with the equal rights guaranteed in the Constitution.