Tears of Joy: Federal Judge Strikes Down Utah’s Gay Marriage Ban

“I’m in tears.” D. Christian Harrison told Approaching Justice earlier this afternoon, as he took in the news that a U.S. District Court in Utah ruled today that Utah’s 2004 gay marriage ban was unconstitutional.

“I’m sitting at my desk in tears,” Harrison continued. “Today, Utah becomes the 18th state in our country to recognize gay marriage. And it happened because people stood up and said ‘this is not right’ — people like my friends Derek Kitchen and his boyfriend Moudi Sbeity, two of the plaintiffs in the case.”

Harrison, a gay active Mormon who lives in Salt Lake City, said he was not surprised by the ruling, but he was surprised by the timing. The plaintiffs were not expecting the decision until January 7.

The full ruling of U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby in the case of Kitchen v. Herbert can be found here.

Michael Adam Ferguson and J. Seth Anderson have already secured their marriage license in the short time since the ruling. In the tweet below, Anderson noted a connection between today’s momentous occasion and the struggles of his own polygamous great grandparents.

Me and my new husband!! My polygamous Mormon great grandparents would be so proud! pic.twitter.com/82xyh9GJoS

— Seth Anderson (@jsethanderson) December 20, 2013

It is likely that the State of Utah will appeal this decision.

For now…Merry Christmas!