IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAHCENTRAL DIVISIONDEREK KITCHEN, MOUDI SBEITY,KAREN ARCHER, KATE CALL, LAURIEWOOD, and KODY PARTRIDGE,Plaintiffs,MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER vs.GARY R. HERBERT, JOHN SWALLOW,and SHERRIE SWENSEN,Case No. 2:13-cv-217Defendants.The Plaintiffs in this lawsuit are three gay and lesbian couples who wish to marry, but arecurrently unable to do so because the Utah Constitution prohibits same-sex marriage. ThePlaintiffs argue that this prohibition infringes their rights to due process and equal protectionunder the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The State of Utah defendsits laws and maintains that a state has the right to define marriage according to the judgment of its citizens. Both parties have submitted motions for summary judgment.The court agrees with Utah that regulation of marriage has traditionally been the provinceof the states, and remains so today. But any regulation adopted by a state, whether related tomarriage or any other interest, must comply with the Constitution of the United States. The issuethe court must address in this case is therefore not who should define marriage, but the narrowquestion of whether Utah’s current definition of marriage is permissible under the Constitution.
Case 2:13-cv-00217-RJS Document 90 Filed 12/20/13 Page 1 of 53