A federal judge is giving Kentucky more time to officially recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries, saying doing so will allow the law to become settled without causing confusion or granting rights only to have them taken away, according to USA Today.
The ruling Wednesday comes just two days before gay couples would have been allowed to change their names on official identifications and documents and obtain the benefits of any other married couple in Kentucky, USA Today reported.
U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II of Louisville said in a four-page order that it is "best that these momentous changes occur upon full review" rather than being implemented too soon or causing confusing changes, according to USA Today.
Heyburn said the delay would stay in place until the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati either rules on the merits of the case or orders the stay lifted, USA Today reported.
Heyburn's order is similar to those granting same-sex marriage recognition rights but putting the implementation on hold in Texas, Utah, Virginia and other states, according to USA Today.
Attorneys Shannon Fauver and Laura Landenwich, who represent the multiple couples seeking to have their unions recognized, said they will ask the appeals court to lift the stay and let Heyburn's original ruling take effect, USA Today reported.
Heyburn overturned parts of Kentucky's same-sex marriage ban on Feb. 12 and set an effective date for his ruling of March 21, according to USA Today.
Heyburn said Kentucky's ban on recognizing same-sex marriages violated the Constitution's equal-protection clause because it treated "gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them," USA Today reported. Without the ruling, the state would have had to start allowing same-sex couples to start collecting marriage benefits.
The ruling did not deal with the issue of whether same-sex couples could get marriage licenses in Kentucky, according to USA Today. That is the subject of a separate lawsuit expected to be resolved by the summer.
Attorney General Jack Conway opted not to appeal Heyburn's decision that overturned parts of a 2004 state constitutional amendment on gay marriage, USA Today reported. Conway said that appealing the case would be "defending discrimination.
