The Supreme Court halted all Utah same-sex marriages on Monday, after the state filed for an appeal of a previous ruling that deemed the unions legal.
While justices mull a bid submitted by the state to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the high court ruled that LGBT couples can't get married in the interim, USA Today reported.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has been tasked with the case, which has erupted into a tug-of-war between same-sex partners and the state of Utah since U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby struck down a ban against gay marriage in December.
Following Shelby's declaration that the law violated gay and lesbian citizens' 14th Amendment rights, over 900 same-sex couples hustled to City Hall to tie the knot, according to USA Today.
Legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah John Mejia maintained on Monday that none of the marriages previously performed would be reneged, despite the fact that no new unions could be officiated.
"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," Mejia said.
Attorney Peggy Tomsic, who represents some of the gay couples who first brought the case to court, urged Sotomayor to turn down Utah's bid for a block on gay marriage last week. Tomsic stated that there wasn't full proof on how gay marriage affected any other citizens in the state.
"Numerous same-sex marriages are now occurring every day in Utah," lawyers told the high court. "Each one is an affront not only to the interests of the state and its citizens in being able to define marriage through ordinary democratic channels, but also to this court's unique role as arbiter."
But Utah, as the home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and one of the frontrunning states against the legalization of gay marriage, maintained that same-sex unions were a newfangled trend, one that isn't "deeply rooted in the nation's history and tradition."
