Colorado Supreme Court halts gay marriages while state ban remains in place

DENVER – Colorado’s Supreme Court is ordering an end to gay marriages while the state’s ban against the unions remains in place.

The state’s high court on Friday ordered Denver’s clerk to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

It responded to an appeal from Attorney General John Suthers who had been unable to persuade lower courts to stop clerks in Boulder and Denver from distributing the documents.

Gay marriages began in June after a Denver-based federal appeals court ruled that states couldn’t ban gay marriage. But the court stayed that ruling pending appeal.

Suthers is also asking the state Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of Colorado’s gay marriage ban. A lower court judge found that law unconstitutional but also stayed his ruling until the high court reviewed it.