Calif. asked to delay gay marriages

SAN FRANCISCO, May 31 (UPI) -- Attorneys general from 10 states are urging the California Supreme Court to stay its ruling to legalize same-sex marriage in the Golden State.

A friend-of-the-court brief filed by Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff on behalf of Utah and nine other AGs said they need time to determine if their state would recognize gay marriages performed in California, Legal Newsline reported.

The California Supreme Court ruled May 15 that California's ban on same-sex marriage violates the "fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship."

Utah, Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Carolina and South Dakota are asking the court to stay its ruling.

California Supreme Court expert Stephen Barnett told Legal Newsline that it's "not unusual" that other states would weigh in on the ruling.

"This case will clearly will have an effect on other states, so it would be appropriate that they would file amicus briefs," said Bartlett, professor emeritus from University of California Berkeley's Boalt School of Law.

It is unlikely the justices will stay their decision, he added.

"After considering this case for a few years, California is not about to withhold its decision to give other states time to think about it," Barnett said.