Advocacy Group Asks U.S. and 18 States To Recognize 1300 Utah Same-Sex Marriages

Given the uncertainty surrounding the status of some 1300 same-sex marriages that were solemnized in Utah between December 20 (when a district court legalized them) and Jan. 6 (when the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the district court order), Human Rights Campaign yesterday wrote the attorneys general in the 18 states that recognize same-sex marriages, asking them to recognize these marriages for any couples that travel through or relocate in their states. (Full text of letter.) (Press release.) The letter asks the AGs to issue advisory opinions declaring that they will do so. Reuters reports that Human Rights Campaign yesterday also wrote U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking that the federal government extend recognition to these marriages so that the couples will be eligible for federal benefits due to married couples.