Supreme Court Blocks Start of Same-Sex Marriages in Virginia

Order Follows Similar Action on Same-Sex Unions in Utah.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily blocked the start of same-sex marriages in Virginia, as the justices moved closer to considering appeals on whether state laws barring the ceremonies are unconstitutional.

The court granted the delay in a brief order after local and state officials requested a temporary stay following a July ruling by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., striking down the state’s ban on same-sex marriages. State officials were preparing to start performing wedding ceremonies later this week.

Virginia’s Democratic attorney general, Mark Herring, has refused to defend his state’s ban, agreeing with gay couples that it violates constitutional equal-protection rights. However, he said he “reluctantly agreed that a stay was warranted in light of the way the Supreme Court handled” the “nearly identical case” from Utah.

The court granted the delay in a brief order after state and local officials in Virginia requested a temporary stay following a July ruling by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriages. State officials were preparing to start performing wedding ceremonies later this week

Utah already has asked the Supreme Court to review a decision by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, which struck down that state’s ban on same-sex unions. The Supreme Court previously stayed the 10th Circuit ruling while it weighs Utah’s petition.

One significant difference between the cases of Utah and Virginia, however, is that Utah is actively defending its marriage restriction, while Virginia concedes its similar law is unconstitutional.

A local Virginia official, Michèle McQuigg, the clerk for the Prince William County Circuit Court, is asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Fourth Circuit ruling. In legal papers, she said allowing same-sex marriages before the Supreme Court considers the ban’s validity “would invite needless chaos and uncertainty rather than facilitate the orderly and dignified resolution of a constitutional question of enormous national importance.”

Wednesday’s Supreme Court order put the Virginia ruling on hold until the justices resolve expected appeals. Such a decision is several months away, but could occur in the annual term that begins in October.

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