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Supreme Court stays Utah same-sex marriages

Justices put an end to same-sex marriages in Beehive State as litigation continues

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Supreme Court, gay news, Washington Blade
Supreme Court, gay news, Washington Blade

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a stay on Utah same-sex marriages (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key).

The U.S. Supreme Court approved on Monday a stay request on same-sex marriages in Utah, prohibiting gay couples from continuing to wed in the Beehive State as litigation proceeds throughout the courts.

According to the court order, justices ruled to grant the application of stay filed last week by attorneys for Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Attorney General Sean Reyes in the case of Kitchen v. Reyes.

“The permanent injunction issued by the United States District Court for the District of Utah, case No. 2:13-cv-217, on December 20, 2013, is stayed pending final disposition of the appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit,” the order states.

The vote of the full court indicates U.S. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who’s response for stay requests in the Tenth Circuit, referred the matter to the entire to the entire court instead of deciding the issue for herself. How each justice voted on the matter isn’t disclosed, but at least five justices must have voted in the affirmative to grant a stay.

The district court that ruled in favor of marriage equality in Utah on Dec. 20 and the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals had already denied stay requests from Utah. But as the highest court in the country, the U.S.  Supreme Court has the final word on the stay, so same-sex couples have no further recourse in the matter.

State officials asked the Supreme Court to halt the same-sex marriage in Utah on the basis their continuation would cause financial harm to the state and the couples themselves if their unions were deemed invalid at at a later time. Private attorney Monte Stewart, a Utah-based lawyer and known opponent of same-sex marriage, had signed on to the brief as counsel of record.

Although the Supreme Court has granted the stay request, the litigation that brought marriage equality to Utah hasn’t been resolved and is pending before the Tenth Circuit.

The appellate court has agreed to take up the issue on an expedited basis. State officials’ opening brief must be filed by Jan. 27. The response from attorneys for gay couples is due Feb. 18, and state officials have a chance to respond to that filing by Feb. 25.

James Magleby, one of the attorneys at Magleby & Greenwood PC representing the three plaintiff couples in the lawsuit, said the decision by the Supreme Court was “obviously disappointing,” but predicted in the end the Tenth Circuit would bring justice to same-sex couples seeking to marry.

“This temporary stay has no bearing on who will win on appeal,” Magleby said. “We look forward to defending Judge Shelby’s decision in the Tenth Circuit. We were confident when we filed the case in 2013, we were confident when we presented the arguments to the district court, and we remain equally – if not more – confident about our defense of marriage equality before the Tenth Circuit.”

LGBT advocates also expressed disappointment with the decision by the Supreme Court, but said they believe it would be only temporary.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement the stay in Utah same-sex marriages is “disappointing,” but predicted marriage equality would prevail in the end.

“We still live in two Americans where full equality is within reach in one, and another where even basic protections are non-existent,” Griffin said. “As the marriage equality map expands, history is on our side and we will not rest until where you live is not a barrier to living your dreams.”

John Mejia, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, said in a statement Utah should continue to recognize same-sex marriages already performed in the state as valid.

“The huge response that we have seen since the federal court’s ruling shows how important the freedom to marry is in the state of Utah,” Mejia said. “Though future marriages are on hold for now, the state should recognize as valid those marriages that have already been issued, and those couples should continue to be treated as married by the federal government.”

But at least one advocate against same-sex marriage was happy with the decision.

Brian Brown, president of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, praised the Supreme Court as he took a swipe at U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby for issuing the ruling in the first place.

“The actions of this activist judge are an affront to the rule of law and the sovereign rights of the people of Utah to define marriage,” Brown said. “Shelby has attempted to twist what the Supreme Court ruled in the Windsor decision – that states have the right to define marriage – and turn it into the exact opposite conclusion. It’s gratifying that the US Supreme Court has decided to stop this nonsense and allow the state of Utah the time to reverse it on appeal.”

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World Pride 2025

D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride

Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

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Sasha Colby performs at Pitchers in 2023. Liquor-serving establishments in D.C. will be able to remain open for 24 hours during WorldPride. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.

In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.

Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.

According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.

The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.

Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.

At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.

It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.

Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.

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The Vatican

Executive director of LGBTQ Catholic group to travel to Rome for conclave

Marianne Duddy-Burke met Pope Francis in 2023

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DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke, middle, greets Pope Francis in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Marianne Duddy-Burke)

The executive director of a group that represents LGBTQ Catholics will travel to Rome next week for the papal conclave that starts on May 7.

DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke on Thursday told the Washington Blade she will arrive in Rome on May 6. Duddy-Burke said she plans to spend time in St. Peter’s Square “and have conversations with people.”

“I will wear Dignity insignia, have rainbow flags,” she said.

Pope Francis died on April 21. His funeral took place five days later.

The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.

Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial on April 26.

Duddy-Burke and two others from the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics met with Francis in October 2023 during a meeting that focused on the Catholic Church’s future. Duddy-Burke noted Francis “invited” her and her colleagues as his “special guests for the audience and then had a conversation with him afterwards.”

“For me the sort of visibility that he (Francis) brought to our community and to our concerns feels irreversible,” said Duddy-Burke. “He empowered so many people and so many new ministries.”

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu — the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo who has described homosexuality as an “abomination” — is among the cardinals who are reportedly in the running to succeed Francis.

“I really don’t know,” said Duddy-Burke when the Blade asked her who the next pope will be. “Of course, I am hoping and praying hard that it will be someone who will continue to lead the church on responsiveness of human need and greater inclusivity.”

“What happens in that room is such a mystery,” she added.

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World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

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The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.

Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)

A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.

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