In the weeks since a federal judge
struck down Utah's gay marriage ban and then
refused to issue a stay on his decision, more than 900 gay and lesbian couples have been able to marry in the state. But now the Supreme Court has
issued a stay, which will halt further same-sex marriages in Utah for the time being:
The order follows an emergency appeal by the state following the Dec. 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates gay and lesbian couples' constitutional rights. [...]
The high court order will remain in effect until the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether to uphold Shelby's ruling.
The full text of the extremely brief order is
here.
10:20 AM PT: This story has been changed to reflect that the stay was issued by the entire Supreme Court, not just Justice Sotomayor.