Boulder told to stop issuing gay marriage licenses

Boulder County must stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples while the Colorado Supreme Court considers an appeal from the state's attorney general, justices said in a ruling Tuesday.

The court ruling was in response to an appeal from Republican Attorney General John Suthers, who has been trying for several weeks to get Boulder's clerk to stop giving marriage licenses to gay couples until there is a definitive ruling on same-sex unions from the U.S. Supreme Court.

The same court previously ruled in Suthers' favor in ordering Denver to stop issuing licenses, but that ruling didn't apply to Boulder.

Boulder was the first Colorado county to begin giving licenses to gay couples in June after the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Utah's same-sex marriage ban. That ruling was put on hold pending appeal. Along with Utah, the 10th Circuit includes Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

The state's high court said it will take up Suthers' appeal asking for same-sex marriage licenses to stop, pending litigation regarding gay-wedding bans.

Suthers has said the state's laws need to be enforced until there is a decisive court ruling.

Boulder Clerk Hillary Hall has argued, however, that the guidance from several courts that have overturned state bans is clear, and a final, favorable outcome for gay marriages is inevitable. Boulder's attorneys have told Suthers that they believe Hall would be violating people's constitutional rights by refusing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the meantime.

But after Tuesday's order, Hall said she would stop.

The state Supreme Court said all documents related to the case must be turned over by Oct. 20.

As of Tuesday, Boulder County had issued 202 marriage licenses to gay couples.

In addition to Boulder and Denver, Pueblo County also briefly issued licenses to same-sex couples, but Pueblo stopped after the state Supreme Court ordered Denver to halt the practice.

In a separate case, a federal judge in Denver ruled July 23 that that state's 2006 voter-approved ban is unconstitutional. But the judge put his ruling on hold to give the state until Aug. 25 to seek a stay, pending resolution by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Associated Press