Supreme Court Hold Means Some Utah Gay Couples Aren't Legally Wed

Some waited to hold actual ceremony, and now the state cannot recognize them

More than 1,000 gay and lesbian couples took home marriage licenses from county clerks in Utah in the past two weeks — but not all of them are legally married.

Dozens of couples who were holding off on having ceremonies, many waiting for out-of-town family and friends, are now out of luck. Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen says the marriage license itself means nothing unless there is a ceremony with an officiator and two witnesses.

Comments

[Finchster]

It’s not 100% clear that those who did have a ceremony are legally married now, either. The judge could have avoided this kind of confusion by staying his ruling pending appeal, but he seems to have figured that the more “marriages” that happen before the appeal is heard, the harder it will be to reverse him.