Officials Seek Stay on Utah Gay Marriage Ruling

Federal judge struck ban down Friday

In the aftermath of U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby's ruling in Kitchen v. Herbert, which triggered hundreds of impromptu weddings in Utah Friday at several county clerk offices, state officials moved on two fronts to put the decision on hold while they appeal.

Shelby has set a hearing on the state's request for a stay for 9 a.m. on Monday.

The judge declined an oral request from the state on Friday to stay his motion. Then Friday night the state filed a written motion with the judge, which Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said in a statement Saturday he hoped would receive an "expedited judicial resolution" because of the "chaotic situation" created by the decision.

There were varied responses Friday from county clerks across the state to requests from same-sex couples for marriage licenses. On Saturday, the Weber County Clerk's Office scrapped its plan to open for an hour to issue licenses to gay couples, after a large turnout caused security issues and what County Clerk Ricky Hatch called "equal protection" concerns.