....wow.

On Friday, US District Court Judge Robert Shelby ruled that the gay
marriage ban in Utah, which has been in effect since 2004, is
unconstitutional. Therefore, same-sex marriage is now legal in the
state. This ruling was warmly received by hundreds of gay couples, who
flocked to the county clerk’s office in Salt Lake City on Friday night
to get married. The ruling came as the result of a a lawsuit that was
brought up by three gay couples in Utah who challenged the state’s ban
on same-sex marriage. The trial ended on Wednesday and Judge Shelby
released his ruling and opinion on Friday.

One notable quote from the judge’s 53-page ruling was this:

“The state’s current laws deny its gay and lesbian citizens their
fundamental right to marry and, in so doing, demean the dignity of these
same-sex couples for no rational reason. Accordingly, the court finds
that these laws are unconstitutional.”

-- I've seen a few responses from the righties...they're just what you
would expect.

I thought this one was interesting:

Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage,
released a statement after the ruling.

“This ruling is a travesty of justice. The voters of Utah made
their will in this matter perfectly clear less than 10 years ago when
adopting an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as the
union of one man and one woman. This ruling should concern every
American who cares about the rights of citizens and their involvement in
determining the laws that govern us. This trend of vetoing the voters
from the bench must be stopped.”

I don't see how the ruling impacts the rights of those who are against
gay marriage. No one is forcing any of them to marry a gay person. As
for "vetoing from the bench," the Courts constitutionally rule on laws
in this country, even ones the voters pass.

--
Religion: together we can find the cure.