US: Colorado officials ask court to declare same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional
Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and Republican Attorney General John Suthers asked a federal court Wednesday to issue an injunction declaring Colorado’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
The injunction would suspend contentious litigation until a ruling was made on the matter by the US Supreme Court, as long as no further action was taken.
This request comes on the heels of last week’s 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Utah same-sex couples have the right to marry.
However, despite the ruling, Colorado’s Amendment 43 – which defines marriage as only between a man and a woman – is still technically in effect.
Hickenlooper and Suthers requested the injunction as a response to the federal lawsuit filed by six same-sex couples on Tuesday. Boulder County’s clerk Hillary Hall continued to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite threats of unspecified legal action by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.
As of 27 June, Hall had issued 34 same-sex marriage licenses – including one to a state senator – despite the state maintaining this ban on same-sex marriage.
While Hickenlooper and Suthers agree that there should be an injunction, they do not agree on the issue of same-sex marriage, nor last week’s federal appeals court decision to strike down the same-sex marriage ban in Utah.
In a statement, Hickenlooper called the filing for an injunction an important step.
He said: “We understand there is frustration with the lengthy judicial process, but waiting until the legal process is finished will ensure that marriage licenses issued to same sex couples are not clouded by uncertainty.
“We hope the US Supreme Court will take this matter up quickly. Equality for everyone can’t come soon enough.”
