“I wasn’t terribly surprised,” said Matt Halverson, a senior in linguistics. “I didn’t celebrate when Amendment 3 was appealed, because I had a feeling that this would be one of those battle things, like a Prop 8 situation, where we had marriage equality in California and then we didn’t and then we did again.”
Halverson feels hopeful that equality will eventually be permanent in Utah, but he believes it will not come without a fight.
Supporters of same-sex marriage honor Justice Sonia Sotomayor for refraining from making the decision herself when she received the emergency appeal
from the state of Utah, and remain hopeful. Kai Martinez, executive director of the LGBT Resource Center was equally unsurprised by the news.
“I think it will end up with us having marriage equality here in Utah, but it’s going to be a little bit of a battleground. It’s hard for me to be angry, because I’m not surprised. But I’m hoping that it doesn’t stay this way. I’m proud of Sotomayor for going up to the court instead of making the decision herself. But I also kind of wish she hadn’t, because I don’t think the stay would’ve been granted. We’ll keep plugging along, and hopefully things will progress,” Martinez said.
The hold will last until the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reaches a decision.
“It’s going to be in place until there’s time for an appeal, and I hope it doesn’t stay,” Martinez said. “I think we’re heading toward marriage equality. It’s going to be nationwide at some point — I think it’s just a matter of prolonging the process. It’s a stay, it doesn’t mean that [marriage equality has] gone away. It’s in a temporary holding space.”
Maxwell Mcleod, an undeclared sophomore, understands why some people were upset by the initial legalization.
“I’m not happy about inequality,” he said, “But I guess the only thing would be that a lot of people [were unhappy about it] because they feel like it happened behind their backs. And since they weren’t able to vote, and since we have voted on it before and it didn’t exactly happen, people are upset about that. Whether or not I agree with that is one thing, but people are definitely upset.”
Bryce Christensen, chairman of the College Republicans and a junior in political science said the stay represents a proper use of judicial authority. “This is not about whether you’re for or against gay marriage,” he said. “It is important to note that the Supreme Court’s decision
to stay United States District Judge Robert J. Shelby’s ruling was unanimous, despite it being a very divided court. I agree with the stay and am appalled that Shelby did not stay his own decision from the very beginning.”
The official reply given by Utah affirms that the state should not be forced to grant marriage equality to couples until the “recurring” question of whether the U.S. Constitution recognizes the marriage licenses is resolved. Although the fate of those couples who have previously wed — over a thousand of them — is currently unknown, it is believed their marriages will remain legally valid.