Utah Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down; Attorney General Asks Supreme Court To Review Ruling

Utah's attorney general is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review Wednesday's federal appeals court decision that struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban, the Associated Press reported.

A three-judge panel of the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision
that the ban was unconstitutional.

The ruling, which marks the first time a federal appellate court directly ruled on a state's gay marriage ban, was put on hold until all appeals are exercised.

"We hold that the Fourteenth Amendment protects the fundamental right to marry,
establish a family, raise children, and enjoy the full protection of a state's marital laws.

A state may not deny the issuance of a marriage license
to two persons, or refuse to recognize their marriage, based solely upon the sex of the persons in the marriage union," the court said .

Referring to arguments that same-sex marriages violate the sanctity of traditional marriage, the panel said, "it is wholly illogical to believe that state recognition of the love and commitment between same-sex couples will alter the most
intimate and personal decisions of opposite-sex couples."

Judge Paul J. Kelly Jr. was the dissenter, saying he believed the court overstepped its bounds by
ruling on who is allowed to marry.

"We should resist the temptation to become philosopher-kings, imposing our views under the guise of constitutional interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment," he said.

The ruling came the same day a federal court struck down Indiana's gay marriage ban. A stay wasn't implemented in that case, however, meaning gay couples were allowed to marry as soon as the decision was reached -- which some
immediately did.