A U.S. Court of Appeals decision released Wednesday denied a request to delay same-sex marriages in Virginia, setting the table for circuit court clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as early as next week.
The decision was issued by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, with Judge Henry F. Floyd and Roger L. Gregory siding against Prince William County Clerk of Circuit Court Michele McQuigg. She filed a request for the judges to delay the issuance of any marriage licenses after the judges’ July 28 decision to uphold an earlier decision from U.S. District Court Judge Arenda Wright Allen that declared unconstitutional the ban on same-sex marriage in Virginia’s constitution.
Floyd and Gregory’s decision contained little information other than the 2-1 decision to deny McQuigg’s request. The judges did not provide a reason for denying the request. Paul V. Niemeyer, who dissented the July 28 decision by Floyd and Gregory to uphold Allen’s decision, voted to grant McQuigg’s request.
The Supreme Court of the United States may intervene and delay the issuance of marriage licenses. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor did intervene in Utah in July to stop same sex marriages in that state after a lower-court decision struck down that state’s ban, according to the Washington Post.
A decision to delay the issuance of licenses in Virginia would have to come from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who oversees the Fourth Circuit.
The office of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring issued a news release Wednesday saying McQuigg requested a delay from the Supreme Court. If a delay is not issued, circuit court clerks could begin issuing licenses Aug. 20.
“No one anticipated we would be this close this quickly to the day when all Virginians have the right to marry the person they love,” Herring said in the release. “That will be a historic day for our Commonwealth and a joyous day for thousands of loving couples.”
The decision from the appeals court comes less than a week after Herring filed a request with the Supreme Court asking the court to review both the striking down of the ban and the appeals court’s decision to uphold the striking down.
“It is time to discard these discriminatory bans and to recognize the humanity, dignity, and rights of gay and lesbian Americans seeking to forge life-long bonds,” Herring said in a news release announcing his request to the Supreme Court.
Herring’s office supported McQuigg’s request for a delay, noting that if the Supreme Court ultimately rules against marriage equality, it would place couples who married prior to the decision in limbo.
“Difficult questions would be raised for families, employers, and institutions about dissolving marriages or adoptions, and resolving questions about taxation, workplace benefits, and inheritance,” according to the release issued today.
Should the Supreme Court not elect to issue a delay for Virginia, same-sex couples married in other states would also have to be recognized in Virginia.
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