A Colorado judge on Wednesday denied a
stay of his ruling allowing Boulder County to continue issuing
marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
“In actuality, the State is asking
this Court to reconsider its July 10, 2014 ruling and block Clerk
Hall from issuing same sex marriage licenses,” District
Court Judge Andrew Harman said in his ruling.
Harman said he was denying the request
because the state “has offered no actual support in favor of
reconsideration, more cases have found same sex marriage bans
unconstitutional since the Court issued its ruling and the State
[has] not met its burden to obtain a stay pending appeal under
established Colorado law.”
Boulder County Clerk Hillary Hall began
issuing the licenses after the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in
Denver upheld a lower court's ruling striking down Utah's
constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual unions.
The Tenth Circuit's jurisdiction
includes Colorado, and Hall cited the ruling in explaining her
actions.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers
warned Hall she was violating the law and sued her after she refused
to stop issuing the licenses.
While Harman has refused to order Hall
to stop – even temporarily – he's warned that the validity of the
licenses remains in question.
Two additional counties followed Hall's
lead but have since stopped issuing such licenses.
(Related: Colorado
county reluctantly stops issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.)
A federal judge on Wednesday is
expected to hand down a ruling striking down Colorado's marriage ban.
(Related: Federal
judge says he's likely to invalidate Colorado's gay marriage ban.)
(Brief provided by Equality
Case Files.)