Colorado Supreme Court Halts Gay Marriages

DENVER (AP) — Colorado's top court is ordering Denver County to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that Colorado's ban on gay marriage remains in place. It forbade Denver's county clerk from continuing to hand out marriage licenses. But it did not specifically stop the two other clerks in the state who are also distributing the documents.

File - In this June 16, 2014, file photo, plaintiffs in a gay-marriage case and longtime couple Rebecca Brinkman, left, and Margaret Burd take questions from members of the media following a hearing at Adams County District Court, in Brighton, Colo. A Colorado judge on Wednesday July 9, 2014 struck down the state’s gay marriage ban, making him the 16th judge to invalidate a state’s prohibition on same-sex marriages in the past year. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

The top court singled out Denver County because it was named as a defendant in a lawsuit in which a judge overturned Colorado's gay rights ban. But that judge put his decision on hold so the ban remains in place.

Attorney General John Suthers asked the Supreme Court for the emergency order. He is also appealing the ruling on the constitutionality of gay marriage in Colorado.

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