Utah’s same sex marriage ban struck down. More Swallow revelations.
Countdown:
- 35 days until the start of the 2014 Legislature
- 183 days until Utah’s 2014 primary elections
- 316 days to the 2014 midterm elections
- 680 days to the 2015 elections
- 743 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
- 1051 days to the 2016 presidential election
Today’s Utah news highlights:
- A federal judge creates legal chaos by ruling Utah’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional [Tribune].
- In the wake of the ruling, hundreds of same-sex couples descend on the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office to get marriage licenses [Tribune, Deseret News].
- Here’s a profile of Judge Robert J. Shelby whose ruling made same-sex marriage legal in Utah [Tribune].
- Dueling editorials about the ruling: The Salt Lake Tribune hails the decision while the Deseret News calls the ruling “judicial tyranny.”
- Utah was denied a stay in the judges ruling over the weekend, but will try again on Monday morning [Talking Points Memo, Tribune].
- The Weber County Clerk’s office announced they would issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Saturday but had to scrap that plan due to logistical concerns [Tribune].
- More revelations from the John Swallow probe show a number of political donations he took may have broken state law [Tribune, Deseret News].
- Some lawmakers want the House investigation into Swallow to continue after learning about the latest batch of shocking findings [Tribune].
- Rep. Paul Ray proposes a bill to put sheriffs in charge of countywide emergencies [Tribune].
- Ray says he’s considering a run for Davis County Commission in 2014 [Standard-Examiner].
- Utah Republican leaders decide they won’t bid to host the 2016 Republican National Convention [Deseret News].
- Will Jim Matheson leave politics, or is a run for a statewide office in his political future [Utah Policy, Tribune].
- Matheson was holding fundraisers just days before his announcement he would not run for re-election in 2014 [Tribune].
- Rep. Becky Edwards meets with officials for a North Salt Lake medical waste incinerator hoping to come up with a solution for the facility and its neighbors [Standard-Examiner].
- Utah officials hope to build on increased attendance at state parks that resulted from the 16-day government shutdown [KSL].
- A Riverdale candidate who was disqualified after winning a seat on the city council for failing to file a campaign finance disclosure has filed suit challenging the decision [Standard-Examiner].
On this day in history:
- George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army in 1783
- Maryland voted to cede a 100-square-mile area to create Washington, D.C. in 1788
- The poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” was first published in 1823
- President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the Federal Reserve System in 1913
- The government announced the first suspected (later confirmed) case of mad cow disease in the United States in 2003
