Utah Gov. Gary Herbert Receives Thousands of Calls Regarding Same-Sex Marriage
Since the debacle over same-sex marriage began in Utah in late December, Gov. Gary Herbert's office has received over 2,700 calls, emails and texts either supporting or opposing the legalization of gay nuptials in the state.
Records released by the governor's office to The Associated Press indicate that since a Dec. 20 court ruling that overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage, the state has received roughly 1,800 phone calls in support of the legalization of same-sex marriage, and 900 messages from opponents of same-sex marriage. AP reports that a random sampling of 100 of the messages left for the governor's office indicate that many of the calls were made by people who contacted the governor's office more than once, or were made by LGBT advocacy groups who encouraged supporters to contact the governor en masse.
Those opposing same-sex marriage contacted the governor's office saying they felt their vote had been ignored when same-sex marriage was legalized in the state in December. In 2004, 66 percent of Utah residents approved a constitutional ban to same-sex marriage. In a surprise ruling on Dec. 20, 2013, District Judge Robert J. Shelby determined the ban to be unconstitutional, resulting in a flood of same-sex couples requesting marriage licenses in the state.
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Over 1,000 same-sex couples received marriage licenses from Dec. 20 to Jan. 6, when the Supreme Court granted Utah a stay on issuing same-sex marriage licenses while the state appeals Judge Shelby's ruling in the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Although Utah said it would not recognize the over 1,000 same-sex marriages that were approved in the state, the Department of Justice said on Jan. 10 that it would be recognizing the marriages on a federal level.
Some of the letters sent to Gov. Herbert's office have asked the governor to stand strong in his moral values and fight for the state ban on same-sex marriage to be re-instated. "Please hold fast to your values," Ginny Brown wrote to the governor on Jan. 11, according to AP. "I believe you are doing the right thing, but I'm not very optimistic about the Supreme Court."
Another resident, Russ Larson of Ogden, wrote in a letter postmarked Jan. 13: "Spend my tax dollars and win … Marriage is between a man and a woman."
Gov. Herbert, a Republican who opposes same-sex marriage, has vowed to fight for the state's same-sex marriage ban in court. "I am very disappointed an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah," Herbert said in a previous statement.
