Utah became the 18th state in the country Friday to allow same-sex marriage after a federal judge ruled the state's ban on gay marriage violates the U.S. Constitution. This is the first federal case of its kind since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this year.
The Utah decision could be a big deal for Idaho. That’s according to David Adler, director of the Andrus Center for Public Policy at Boise State. Last month, four Boise couples filed suit against the state’s constitutional ban on gay marriage.
Adler says when the federal court in Idaho hears arguments for this case, the judge will likely take Utah's decision into account.
“Courts are particularly eager to understand how other courts in their region have dealt with similar issues," Adler says. "So there will be strong momentum now for an Idaho federal court to embrace the rulings of its neighbors. And if not, it would make Idaho an island in a sea of decisions that are now falling quickly in line with the Supreme Court’s rationale and reasoning in the [Defense of Marriage] case this summer.”
Adler says that sea of decisions in favor of same-sex marriage is growing rapidly across the West.
“Here in Idaho, the federal court can look westward to California, to Oregon, to Washington," says Adler. "It can look south of course to Utah and New Mexico and to other states in our region that are now dealing with this very fast-moving issue.”
He says that since Utah and Idaho have similar cultural and political values, there’s a good chance courts in the Gem State will look to what its neighbor’s precedent.
According to the Associated Press, the first gay couple got married in Utah within hours after Friday's decision. Salt Lake City's mayor officiated the wedding.
Utah's governor has condemned the decision to allow same-sex marriage saying he will try to find a way to defend traditional marriage. The attorney general told The New York Times that the state would try to stop the order while an appeal is formed.
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