Couples Sue Utah Over Refusal to Honor Same-Sex Marriages

Those that were performed legally before court stay

Four same-sex couples sued the state of Utah on Tuesday over Governor Gary Herbert's refusal to recognize gay marriages performed during a brief period while it was legal in the conservative, heavily Mormon state.

The four couples, who were married in Utah between December 20 and January 6 and are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, asked the court to declare their marriages valid and order the state to recognize them.

"By retroactively stripping plaintiffs' marriages of legal recognition, the State of Utah has put these couples and their families in legal limbo and prevented legally married same-sex couples from accessing critical protections for themselves and their children," the lawsuit, filed in third district court in Salt Lake City, said.