Court grants stay in Indiana gay marriage ruling; status of unions already performed in limbo

INDIANAPOLIS – A U.S. appeals court on Friday put on hold a judge’s order striking down Indiana’s gay marriage ban, bringing same-sex marriages to a halt and leaving those who’ve already married in legal limbo.

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the order two days after a U.S. District judge ruled that Indiana’s prohibition on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

State attorneys had asked for a stay of the ruling while it appeals. The attorney general’s office argued it was premature to require Indiana to change its definition of marriage until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the issue, as is widely expected.

Indiana law defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and the state has refused to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where it is legal. The U.S. District judge wrote in his ruling that such restrictions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and noted that courts across the country have agreed.

The ruling allowed same-sex couples to file joint tax returns, receive pension benefits and have their partners listed as spouses on death certificates.

But how the stay will affect them remains to be seen.