More than a mere possibility of harm

My parents, sister, and niece came for a pleasant afternoon. I cooked the food (though that was delayed while the oven burned up the cherry pie drippings left from Thanksgiving (I don't use the oven much)) and was complemented on how good it was. There were a few gifts to open (long ago we limited the number of gifts). Sis and niece watched a DVD while Dad and I opened up a new jigsaw puzzle.

That gives me an evening to catch up on my reading and writing.

The 10th Circuit Court issued its ruling on a request for a stay of same-sex marriages in Utah and did so late yesterday afternoon. The answer was, "we conclude a stay is not warranted." But the case, said the Court, is now on an expedited appeal.

The Court considered two factors in particular. The first is whether there is likelihood of success on appeal. The court said it must be more than a mere possibility. The second is whether there is irreparable harm to the state if there is no stay. And it must be more than a mere possibility of harm.

It seems the big reason the state asked for a stay was that if gay people are allowed to marry now they will be harmed if it took their marriages away later. If the 10th Circuit doesn't consider that a big harm (not enough for a stay) perhaps that is a clue they will rule in our favor.

So Utah will go on to the Supremes. Since Sonia Sotomayor is in charge of the 10th Circuit their first stop is with her. She grant or deny the stay or she can refer the matter to the Court as a whole to decide. If Sotomayor acts on her own and Utah doesn't like it they can submit a request to another Justice, such as Scalia or Thomas, then keep going through the court for a favorable answer or until one refers the matter to the whole Court.