The Supreme Court blocked gay and lesbian couples from marrying in Virginia Wednesday as it edges closer to deciding whether same-sex marriage should be legalized nationwide.
The ruling puts on hold a federal appeals court's verdict last month striking down the state's ban on gay marriage. That case, like others that ended similarly in Utah and Oklahoma, is being appealed to the Supreme Court.
While nearly all federal and state courts have ruled in favor of same-sex marriage since the high court issued two landmark decisions in June 2013, judges have blocked nearly all such marriages while the cases are appealed. The justices had stepped in once before, in Utah, to do just that.
If the court declines to hear the Virginia appeal, the stay would be lifted and couples could begin getting married. Otherwise, those marriages would have to wait until the case is ultimately decided.
"The Supreme Court is making clear, as it already did in the Utah marriage case, that it believes a dignified process is better than disorder," said Byron Babione, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the Virginia court clerk opposed to same-sex marriage.
In six states — Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Utah and Wisconsin — several thousand couples married before the process was interrupted by judges' subsequent rulings. That leaves those marriages in legal limbo.
Tim Bostic, the lead plaintiff in the case, said waiting for a final verdict is preferable.
"While we are disappointed that marriages will have to wait, this was not unexpected," he said. "We feel that this case deserves to be heard by the Supreme Court and be finally decided for all Americans."
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage. It remains illegal in the remaining 31 states, although Colorado, Nevada and Wisconsin allow domestic partnerships or civil unions.
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