by E. Ross
Talis J. Colberg, the Attorney General of Alaska, joined nine other state attorneys general in urging the California Supreme Court to delay finalizing its ruling to legalize same-sex marriage.
The attorneys general say in court documents filed Thursday that they have an interest in the case because they would have to determine if their states would recognize the marriage of gay residents who wed in California.They want the court to stay its ruling until after the November election, when voters likely will decide whether to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage. (Associated Press)
Delaying implementation of the ruling until after the election would spare the states from "unnecessary and unduly burdensome litigation in our courts," said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, author of the brief.
Jerry Brown, the Attorney General of California, said that postponing implementation would withhold rights from couples who are now entitled to them.
These are the ten attorneys general who filed to delay the CA ruling:
Attorney General Talis J. Colberg, Alaska
Attorney General John W. Suthers, Colorado
Attorney General Bill McCollum, Florida
Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, Idaho
Attorney General Mike Cox, Michigan
Attorney General Jon Bruning, Nebraska
Attorney General Kelly A Ayotte, New Hampshire
Attorney General Henry McMaster, South Carolina
Attorney General Larry Long, South Dakota
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, Utah
On Saturday, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte announced that New Hampshire was withdrawing from the request and will recognize a legal gay marriage from California as a civil union.
The California high court has until June 16 to decide whether to put its ruling on hold until November.
Note: local blogger Steve at What Do I Know? commented on Alaska's involvement:
The same week that the Alaska Attorney General joined conservative legal groups in urging the California Supreme Court to delay finalizing its ruling to legalize same-sex marriage, approximately 22,000 Alaskans spent around $2.5 million to see a married gay man and to cheer him wildly.
He includes video he took at the Elton John concert in Anchorage.
4 comments:
Didn't we already deal with the question of whether and how to deal with other states' same-sex marriages when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court made its decision in 2003? Do we intend to treat Californian marriages differently?
The difference is that Alaskans can't get married in MA but we can in CA - they don't have a residency requirement. Alaskans can get married in CA, return home to AK, and sue the state for recognition of their marriages. That's what Colberg is afraid of.
A-ha...
As I remembered it, the Massachusetts requirement was that couples from out of state could be be married there, IF the marriage would be legal and recognized in their home state. Is that wrong?
In any case, your explanation of the California difference makes sense. Thanks.
That's correct. For a more complete answer, see today's post: Where Are We Now? The Geography of Same Sex Marriage.
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