OVERTURNED

Colorado Gay-Marriage Ban Struck Down

But judge issues stay on ruling.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Colorado’s ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. However, U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore has issued a temporary stay to his ruling, saying the state has until Aug. 25 to appeal to a higher court. On July 1, six couples filed the federal lawsuit challenging Colorado’s ban on same-sex marriages. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers had asked the judge to halt court proceedings, pending a final resolution with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That court ruled Utah’s gay-marriage ban uncosntituional, but stayed the ruling pending an appeal. Suthers and Gov. John Hickenlooper have both agreed the state ban is unconstitutional, but say they want to wait for the issue to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall said on June 25 that the 10^th Circuit ruling on Utah gave her the power to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Since then, 300 couples have received marriage licenses in the state from different counties, though some clerks have been threatened with legal action and forced to stop.