The state of Utah is lawyering up to seek a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby that legalized gay marriage in Utah on Dec. 20. Newly named Attorney General Sean Reyes plans to enlist the help of outside attorneys in filing the state’s emergency stay request with the Supreme Court – to the tune of $2 million.
The state’s latest request for a stay of Judge Shelby’s ruling, which would halt the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses in Utah until the appeals process concludes sometime in 2015, was denied last week by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. In taking the matter to the Supreme Court, Reyes said the state needs the best legal team it can get. He also plans to utilize this outside legal counsel to strengthen the state’s appeal of Shelby’s ruling to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and possibly the Supreme Court.
After Reyes presented his plea for outside legal help and revealed the estimated costs it would incur, Utah’s House Republican majority leaders gave him the go-ahead to move forward, saying the state is justified in spending additional money to defend an issue citizens voted on 2 to 1. Many in the senate feel this issue, which will set a national precedent regarding same-sex marriage, will also speak volumes about the matter of states’ rights.
But not everyone feels the $2 million expenditure for additional legal counsel is justified.
Senate Minority Leader Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, is among those who believe the state will be throwing away money to fight a losing battle.
“I think it’s a ridiculous way to go. I don’t think we’re going to win,” Davis told the Deseret News on Dec. 27. “I believe we have appropriated the money for the attorney general’s office for good attorneys to be able to argue any issue.”
In related news, Rep. Jacob Anderegg, R-Lehi, is sponsoring an amendment – one he has been working on for more than a year, long before Judge Shelby’s ruling – that would ensure Utah churches and clergy members won’t be forced to participate in marriages that violate their religious views. Anderegg wrote a draft of his amendment last year but decided not to introduce it at the time because he thought there would not be enough interest for the amendment to pass. But recent rulings have changed that.
Anderegg’s proposed amendment reads, “No religious organization, association, or society and no individual acting in a role connected with a religious organization, association, or society, may be required or compelled to solemnize, officiate in, or recognize a marriage or religious rite of marriage in violation of their right of conscience or their free exercise of religion.”
Written by Cami Cox
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