In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court, a couple claims they were denied a marriage license after the state Supreme Court declined to grant them a marriage.
The couples suit claims the state’s highest court was wrong to deny them a license because it didn’t have enough evidence of a marriage ceremony that occurred between them.
The couple’s lawsuit says a clerk at the state Department of Licensing and Registration Services (LRS) in Salt Lake City told them their application for a marriage certificate was denied because they didn’t meet the criteria for a religious ceremony.
It was unclear what prompted the denial.
The lawsuit says the denial was based on an administrative error and that a later application was accepted by LRS.
It’s not the first time the Utah Legislature has struggled with issuing marriage licenses.
In 2011, the state passed a bill that included provisions to allow same-sex couples to marry.
The bill has since been repealed by the state House of Representatives.
