Couples: Gay Marriage Ban 'Cements Discrimination'

Attorneys for three gay and lesbian couples have filed a brief with an appeals court contesting Utah's gay marriage ban, which a federal judge overturned in December.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/NwHnkZ ) that the 118-page response was filed late Tuesday with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The brief says the ban "cements discrimination" into the state's Constitution and denies those families a "common vocabulary of family life and belonging."

The state appealed after U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby found the ban unconstitutional on Dec. 20.

More than 1,000 gay couples married in Utah before the U.S. Supreme Court granted the state an emergency stay in January.

Utah filed its opening argument Feb. 3, saying the ban is in the best interests of children.

Oral arguments are scheduled for April 10.