Gay couples in Utah urged not to sue

As the first gay couples lined up to tie the knot in California, a Utah state senator expressed his desire to do so as well.

"If and when we do, we will be husband and husband under the law and in the eyes of the community in California," Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, said on the Senate Democrat blog.

However, McCoy concedes that in Utah, same-sex marriages won't be recognized because it's banned in the state's law and constitution. And, he adds, he has no intention to challenge that.

"We won't sue, and frankly neither should any other Utah couple," McCoy wrote in the posting. "Utah courts are not likely to lead out on marriage equality for Utah. ... Those first legal recognition battles will be fought elsewhere in more favorable venues."

Earlier this month, the potential for lawsuits led Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff to join in an unsuccessful request that the California Supreme Court delay its ruling allowing same-sex marriages until after the November election.

Shurtleff had argued that because California voters could overturn the ruling by constitutionally banning marriage, the state could face "premature, unnecessary, unnecessarily difficult" litigation by couples who wed in the interim.

Gay couples in Utah urged not to sue
Deseret News, UT