Utah turns to higher court to halt gay marriage

[Jesus Malverde]

Utah state lawyers have again turned to a Denver-based federal appeals court in their bid to put a stop to gay couples getting married, saying the state should not be required to abide by one judge's narrow view of a "new and fundamentally different definition of marriage."

About 700 gay couples have obtained wedding licenses since U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby on Friday declared Utah's gay marriage ban unconstitutional, but lawyers for the state are trying every legal avenue to halt the practice. Shelby on Monday denied their bid to temporarily stop gay marriage while the appeals process plays out, and they then quickly went to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Utah is the 18th state where gay couples can wed, and the sight of same-sex marriages occurring just a few miles from the headquarters of the Mormon church has provoked anger among the state's top leaders.

"Until the final word has been spoken by this Court or the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of Utah's marriage laws, Utah should not be required to enforce Judge Shelby's view of a new and fundamentally different definition of marriage," the state said in a motion to the appeals court.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Utah-turns-to-higher-court-to-halt-gay-marriage-5089886.php

[RandySF]

1. I'm beginning to think that Utah is not as conservative as its political leadership. n/t

[defacto7]

2. The following is a broad brush but true...

The state is run by the Mormon church. Period. They allow the political processes to take place but the underlying force and the vast money that funds politics, business and social rules is the LDS church. The rest of us just scream out when we can, certain sectors can vote for left leaning politicians in local areas and most "Utah liberals" are Catholics which is some sort of contradiction of terms. The outward look of Utah politics seems to be slowly changing but it only changes as the LDS church will allow and will allow itself to evolve within its rigid religious confines. It's a machine and a well controlled one. There's no true freedom here, just the trappings of freedom.

[Ilsa]

4. An old boyfriend gave me insight into LDS because

He grew up in it. He explained that church parish leaders are given access to information about your income, so they are able to shame and force families into tithing 10% to stay in the good graces of the church. This kind of coercion occurred in funding Proposition 8.

Sometimes, in turn, LDS businesses do more for those that are least able to take care of themselves, too. A friend said that a bank he examined (FDIC) had a lot of zero percent interest loans. The banker told him they were performing loans, but the borrowers were given the loans at 0% because they couldn't afford the interest.

It's a shame more Mormons have cognitive dissonance about the foundation details of their religion.

[NCLefty]

3. "Moral busybodies," all of them.

So concerned with who is loving who or wants to marry who, because THEY know better. Nevermind all of the corpses under their own beds, their so-called sins and hypocrisies.

*spit*