Utah may not recognize any of the @ 1,300 married same-sex couples that managed to get hitched before the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay on the lower federal court ruling striking down that state's ban, but U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder wants everyone to know that
the federal government will recognize any same-sex marriage that got done before the stay:
The Obama administration on Friday said that it would recognize as lawful the marriages of 1,300 same-sex couples in Utah, even though the state government is refusing to do so.
Wading into the fast-moving legal battle over same-sex marriage rights in one of America’s most socially conservative states, the administration posted a video on the Justice Department’s website making the announcement. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said that the federal government will grant federal marriage benefits to the same-sex couples who had rushed to obtain marriage licenses after a federal judge last month unexpectedly struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage.
“I am confirming today that, for purposes of federal law, these marriages will be recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages,” Mr. Holder said in the video. “These families should not be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their status as the litigation unfolds.”
Meanwhile, Utah AG Sean Reyes has clarified that they do not believe that the pre-stay same-sex marriage are invalid. If some married there and then moved to Boston or Des Moines, those marriages would qualify for equal marriage benefits and responsibilities because they are valid marriages.
Those valid marriages just will not be married by the state (i.e. Utah) that issued those valid marriage licenses.
