Top Colorado court halts gay marriages in Boulder

Colorado’s Supreme Court ordered Boulder County to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples while an appeal from the state attorney general is heard.

The court ruled Tuesday in response to an appeal from Republican Attorney General John Suthers, who has been trying for several weeks to get Boulder to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. The court will hear the appeal, and it is ordering Boulder to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the meantime.

The same court previously ruled in Suthers’ favor in ordering Denver to quit issuing licenses, but that ruling didn’t apply to Boulder.

Boulder was the first Colorado county to begin giving licenses to gay couples in June after the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Utah’s ban. That ruling was stayed pending an appeal.