Organizations oppose stay of Fourth Circuit marriage ruling
Richmond, VA -- On Friday, the ACLU of Virginia, the ACLU and Lambda Legal filed papers in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, on behalf of a class of approximately 14,000 Virginia same-sex couples. The organizations are opposing a Circuit Court clerk’s request to stay the Fourth Circuit ruling striking down Virginia’s laws prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying. A stay would put the court’s ruling on hold, preventing same-sex couples from marrying and having their out-of-sate marriages recognized. Without the stay, the Fourth Circuit Court’s ruling will become final on August 18.
The stay was requested by Prince William County Circuit Court Clerk Michèle McQuigg, who wants to put the decision on hold while she asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. But ACLU and Lambda attorneys said in court papers: “The plaintiffs and their children have waited long enough to exercise the constitutional rights to which this Court has held they are entitled.”
ACLU and Lambda (aided by pro bono counsel Jenner and Block) argued that many couples will suffer irreparable harm if they must wait for a Supreme Court ruling before they may get married or have their existing marriages from other states recognized in Virginia. They noted that within hours after McQuigg’s request for a stay was mentioned in the media, they had heard from a woman suffering from cancer who would not be able to obtain health insurance through her wife, a state employee, until Virginia recognizes their marriage.
“In the last year, every federal court to consider the issue has found that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry,” said Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, Executive Director of the ACLU of Virginia. “Their rights should not be delayed any longer.”
A ruling on the stay is expected before August 18.
The Fourth Circuit’s July 28, 2014 ruling striking down Virginia’s marriage laws.
The ACLU, ACLU of Virginia, and Lambda’s opposition to the stay.
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