Judge strikes down Colorado’s same-sex marriage ban, stays ruling

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Colorado’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, according to Reuters. 

U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore issued his opinion, but stayed the ruling until Aug. 25, so the case could be reviewed by a higher court.

{mosads}Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, a Republican, filed an appeal against the decision Wednesday in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

The decision comes after Colorado’s Supreme Court ordered the Denver County clerk to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Despite the ban, three county clerks in Colorado had been issuing the licenses after a U.S. appeals court in June ruled Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. 

Colorado voters approved a referendum in 2006 that defined marriage in their state as a union between one man and one woman.

Same-sex marriage is now legal in 19 states and Washington, D.C.