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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah dropped its appeal Tuesday of a federal court ruling requiring it to recognize same-sex marriages performed in the state last December and January.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that legalized gay marriage in Utah, rendering the state's case in Evans v. Utah moot. The governor's office advised all state agencies to immediately recognize all legally performed same-sex marriages.
"With this court's mandate in effect, Utah is constitutionally required to recognize the marriages of the same-sex couples who were plaintiffs in this action," Utah Federal Solicitor Parker Douglas wrote in a motion filed in the 10th Circuit Court.
The state asked the court to return the case to U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball to determine court costs and fees, if any.
JoNell Evans and Stacia Ireland, Donald Johnson and Carl Fritz Shultz, Matthew Barraza and Tony Milner, and Elenor Heyborne and Marina Gomberg were married shortly after a federal judge struck down Utah's gay marriage ban last winter. They sued when the governor's office issued a directive against recognizing the marriages as valid.
Kimball ruled in May that Utah had to extend marital benefits to about 1,300 gay and lesbian couples who married during that time. The state appealed the decision to the 10th Circuit Court.
