Nicole Pries and Lindsey Oliver, the first same-sex couple married in Virginia.
The Supreme Court's
rejection of appeals from five states seeking to block marriage equality is having immediate consequences. The Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has lifted stays on its marriage equality decisions in
Oklahoma and
Utah, and the Fourth Circuit similarly issued a mandate for
Virginia. Clerks in
Indiana and
Wisconsin are preparing to issue marriage licenses:
[Milwaukee County Clerk Joseph] Czarnezki says his plan is to “issue marriage licenses to everyone – same-sex, opposite-sex – immediately.”
But he also says he doesn’t think couples need to rush to get a license because same-sex marriage will remain legal following the court decision.
No doubt plenty of couples will want to rush, having waited years or decades for this right. But whatever timetable people are on, it is extremely unlikely that any court will now take this right away from couples in Wisconsin, Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, and Virginia.
In Colorado, which was not one of the states that had appealed a circuit court decision but which is covered by the 10th Circuit, the attorney general issued a statement saying "We expect the 10th Circuit will issue a final order governing Colorado very shortly. Once the formalities are resolved, clerks across the state must begin issuing marriage licenses to all same-sex couples." Five more states—Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wyoming—are in the same position as Colorado, covered by appeals courts that have struck down gay marriage bans.