Utah will not recognize same-sex marriages in wake of SCOTUS hold

Utah will not recognize, at least for now, same-sex marriages performed since a federal judge struck down a ban on gay marriages there in a ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court later put on hold, the Utah governor Gary Herbert's office said on Wednesday.

"Based on counsel from the Attorney General's Office regarding the Supreme Court decision, state recognition of same-sex marital status is ON HOLD until further notice," the statement read.

"Please understand this position is not intended to comment on the legal status of those same-sex marriages — that is for the courts to decide. The intent of this communication is to direct state agency compliance with current laws that prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages."

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay on Monday pending appeal of the ruling, preventing new same-sex marriages from being performed in the state.

Around 1,000 couples married before the stay was issued.

While the federal government will continue to recognize those marriages, the state of Utah will not, which means that couples who want to change their names, for example, will not be able to do so. 

Whether the governor's decision is meant to be a legal comment or not, it will certainly feel like a "massive comment" for those couples married after the initial federal ruling, said Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry.

"It's shameful that the governor would seek to destabilize marriages rather than respect them," Wolfson told Al Jazeera. "These couples are as married as any people on the planet. The state issued marriage licenses, they paid their fees, they got married, and the state should recognize that."

Al Jazeera and Reuters