US: Supreme Court suspends same-sex marriage in state of Utah

The US Supreme Court has put a stay on equal marriage in the US state of Utah, forbidding same-sex couples from being issued with marriage licences in the state during an appeal against a ruling to allow them.

The temporary stay will be in place during an appeal by the state of Utah against a ruling to allow same-sex marriage.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor put the stay in place after the state made the request last week.

Last Friday, same-sex couples in Utah began queuing to marry after Judge Shelby ruled that the state’s equal marriage ban was unconstitutional.

The US state of Utah last week officially filed to ask the US Supreme Court to put on hold the issue of marriage licences to same-sex couples.

Supporters of equal marriage in the US state of Utah have asked the Supreme Court to reject a request to put a stay on equal marriage in the state.

A week prior, US District Judge Robert Shelby refused to block his own ruling making equal marriage legal in the state.

A man at the weekend revealed that he had been on hunger strike for twelve days, in order to protest against the fact that same-sex couples can now marry in the state of Utah.

In response a Facebook group was set up to send hundreds of pictures of food to the man.

• Nov 29 2023

56 celebrities you didn’t know are gay, bisexual or lesbian