On June 25, 2014, the

Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Distric ...

upheld a ruling striking down Utah's same-sex marriage ban, setting a precedent in other states under the Tenth Circuit's jurisdiction. In addition, on July 18, 2014, the same panel of the Tenth Circuit invalidated Oklahoma's ban as well. Both Circuit Court rulings were stayed pending certiorari review from the Supreme Court of the United States. The Tenth Circuit consists of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, Oklahoma,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

is the only state in the circuit where same-sex marriage was legal prior to the decisions.

is the only state in the circuit where same-sex marriage was temporarily legal after its ban was struck down. A ruling requiring the state of

to recognize same-sex marriages performed within the state was temporarily stayed and was originally set to expire on July 21, 2014, at 8:00 a.m. The Supreme Court of the United States extended the stay on July 18, 2014. A federal judge struck down

's same-sex marriage ban and issued a temporary stay that was set to expire on August 25 at 8:00 a.m. but was later extended. The same-sex marriage ban was also struck down in

by a state district court judge and was stayed pending appeal. Following the circuit court ruling, licenses were issued in

Boulder County, Colorado Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises ...

. Attorney General

John Suthers John William Suthers (born October 18, 1951) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He previously served as the Attorney General of Colorado, U.S. Attorney for Colorado, Executive Director of th ...

declared that they would be invalid. After a state district court judge refused, on July 10, 2014, to order the clerk to stop issuing the licenses, the Denver County clerk's office began issuing licenses to same-sex couples as well. The clerk of

Pueblo County Pueblo County ( or ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,162. The county seat is Pueblo. The county was named for the historic city of Pueblo which took its name from the Spanish la ...

began issuing licenses to same-sex couples the next day. The

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. Powers and duties Appellate jurisdiction Discretionary appeals The Court ...

ordered clerks in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and Adams counties not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples even though Adams County didn't issue any marriage licenses to same-sex couples. On July 21, 2014, it was announced that

would stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, yet Boulder County continued to issue licenses. On July 29, 2014, the

ordered the clerk in Boulder County not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. On October 6, 2014, the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

rejected petitions for certiorari from five states where same-sex marriage bans had been struck down, including Utah and Oklahoma. The same day, the Tenth Circuit dissolved the stays it had previously issued on its rulings allowing for same-sex marriages in those states. On October 7, the Tenth Circuit lifted its own stay, at the request of state officials, on the case

Burns v. Hickenlooper ''Burns v. Hickenlooper'' is a lawsuit filed on July 1, 2014, in federal district court in Colorado, challenging that state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples. The plaintiffs' complaint alleged that the defendants have violated the F ...

which struck down Colorado's same-sex marriage ban, legalizing same-sex marriage throughout all of Colorado. The Colorado Supreme Court also dissolved stays against several county clerks who were prohibited from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. On November 4, 2014, a preliminary injunction barring the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Douglas County and Sedgwick County from enforcing Kansas's same-sex marriage ban was issued. The Kansas attorney general contended that Crabtree's preliminary injunction only applied to the two counties and one state official involved in the lawsuit. However, many counties began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on their own initiative. The state government refused to recognize same-sex marriages until July 6, 2015, after the Supreme Court of the United States' landmark ruled in ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...

'' on June 26, 2015. By June 30, 2015, all 31 judicial districts and all 105 Kansas counties were issuing licenses to same-sex couples or had agreed to do so. All states and all but one territory are complying with the ruling, which set a precedent that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional. Kansas was the last state in the country to recognize same-sex marriages.

Status of same-sex marriage

References

{{reflist United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit 10

Status of same-sex marriage

See also

References