SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Utah) - The ACLU is now officially suing Utah on behalf of married same sex couples. They're the couples who got legally married in Utah, but because of the State's interpretation of its current legal situation, Utah won't recognize them. Now they're taking the State to court, and Utah is responding.
Utah is now facing another major lawsuit over same sex marriage.
"We ask the court to make clear and order that these unions must be treated the same as any other Utah marriage," said John Mejia, ALCU of Utah.
Tuesday the ACLU of Utah announced it's suing the State on behalf of four same sex couples who said “I do” during the time it was briefly legal in Utah. Right now the State isn't recognizing them as being married, these couples want that title back.
"It was amazing while it lasted but once again we were relegated to second class citizens in our own state," said Donald Johnson, plaintiff.
In response to the lawsuit, the Governor's office sent ABC 4 Utah this statement:
"Governor Herbert has said throughout this process that his responsibility is to follow the law. That is exactly what the administration is doing and we respect the rights of those who disagree to take their grievances before a judge."
That's exactly what same sex couples plan to do. They're seeking to receive married benefits for things like health insurance and adoption rights. It's something couple - Tony Milner and Matthew Barraza don't have when it comes to Barraza's adopted son Jesse.
"If something were to happen to me Tony would not have any legal standing regarding Jesse," said Matthew Barraza, plaintiff.
Attorney Greg Skordas, who is not involved in the case, believes if the new lawsuit goes to court, Utah will struggle to prove couples like Milner and Barraza should be denied those rights.
"I think the state's going to have a very difficult time saying we authorized it during that time, it was legal during that time, but we're not going to give you those privileges," said Greg Skordas, Attorney.
ABC 4 Utah is told the State has three weeks to file a response.
When asked for comment on the new ACLU lawsuit, the Utah Attorney General’s Office sent ABC 4 Utah the following statement:
“Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s stay of the district court’s injunction in Kitchen v. Herbert, the State of Utah has been unable, under Utah law, to recognize marriages between persons of the same sex. Amendment 3, which added Article 1, Section 29 to the Utah Constitution, reads:
1. Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman.
2. No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect.
Consistent with Utah law, the county clerks in all of Utah’s 29 counties, since entry of the stay on January 6, are unable to issue licenses to marry persons of the same sex. Those same sex couples who entered into marriages prior to the entry of the stay remain married and retain the benefits they received as a result of those marriages during the pendency of the appeal process, but the State can neither recognize nor confer new marital benefits.
While the ultimate validity of such marriages is subject to the decision of the highest court, we are unable under Utah law to recognize requests for Utah state benefits applied for after the Supreme Court's stay.”
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Follow Brian Carlson on Twitter: @briancarlsontv
Or on Facebook: facebook.com/abc4briancarlson Reported by abc4 6 hours ago.
Utah is now facing another major lawsuit over same sex marriage.
"We ask the court to make clear and order that these unions must be treated the same as any other Utah marriage," said John Mejia, ALCU of Utah.
Tuesday the ACLU of Utah announced it's suing the State on behalf of four same sex couples who said “I do” during the time it was briefly legal in Utah. Right now the State isn't recognizing them as being married, these couples want that title back.
"It was amazing while it lasted but once again we were relegated to second class citizens in our own state," said Donald Johnson, plaintiff.
In response to the lawsuit, the Governor's office sent ABC 4 Utah this statement:
"Governor Herbert has said throughout this process that his responsibility is to follow the law. That is exactly what the administration is doing and we respect the rights of those who disagree to take their grievances before a judge."
That's exactly what same sex couples plan to do. They're seeking to receive married benefits for things like health insurance and adoption rights. It's something couple - Tony Milner and Matthew Barraza don't have when it comes to Barraza's adopted son Jesse.
"If something were to happen to me Tony would not have any legal standing regarding Jesse," said Matthew Barraza, plaintiff.
Attorney Greg Skordas, who is not involved in the case, believes if the new lawsuit goes to court, Utah will struggle to prove couples like Milner and Barraza should be denied those rights.
"I think the state's going to have a very difficult time saying we authorized it during that time, it was legal during that time, but we're not going to give you those privileges," said Greg Skordas, Attorney.
ABC 4 Utah is told the State has three weeks to file a response.
When asked for comment on the new ACLU lawsuit, the Utah Attorney General’s Office sent ABC 4 Utah the following statement:
“Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s stay of the district court’s injunction in Kitchen v. Herbert, the State of Utah has been unable, under Utah law, to recognize marriages between persons of the same sex. Amendment 3, which added Article 1, Section 29 to the Utah Constitution, reads:
1. Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman.
2. No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect.
Consistent with Utah law, the county clerks in all of Utah’s 29 counties, since entry of the stay on January 6, are unable to issue licenses to marry persons of the same sex. Those same sex couples who entered into marriages prior to the entry of the stay remain married and retain the benefits they received as a result of those marriages during the pendency of the appeal process, but the State can neither recognize nor confer new marital benefits.
While the ultimate validity of such marriages is subject to the decision of the highest court, we are unable under Utah law to recognize requests for Utah state benefits applied for after the Supreme Court's stay.”
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Follow Brian Carlson on Twitter: @briancarlsontv
Or on Facebook: facebook.com/abc4briancarlson Reported by abc4 6 hours ago.