Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of back and forth between the Clerk of Boulder, Colorado and the Colorado Attorney General’s office. Basically, the Boulder clerk has said that she has the right and obligation to issue same sex marriage licenses since the Tenth Circuit had ruled that other same sex marriage bans under its jurisdiction were illegal. However, Colorado’s ban on same sex marriages contravenes this order (that has since been stayed and appealed). In short, the situation was murky, and neither side was backing down.
However, once the state of Colorado sued the Boulder Clerk of Court, things became a lot clearer. John Suthers, the attorney general, sued Hillary Hall, the Boulder Clerk, to stop her from issuing licenses. Things didn’t go Suthers way. The District Court of Boulder County denied his request for a restraining order and preliminary injunction, paving the way for Hall to continue acting in the interests of the same sex couples in her area with the stipulation that they be informed that their marital status was still be litigated. The ruling also struck down the state’s same sex marriage ban, but this was stayed immediately pending appeal.
Hearing that Hall had prevailed, the city of Denver has now announced that they will begin to offer marriage licenses to same sex couples as well starting today (Thursday) at 4:30 pm local time.
