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All Eyes On Courts As Colorado's Gay Couples Seek Licenses

DENVER (CBS4) - Gay newlyweds in Colorado are now looking to the courts, both state and federal, for clues about the legality of their recent nuptials.

"We won't be secure until a Supreme Court ruling, obviously, but for now this is good," said Anna Simon, who married her partner, Fran, on Friday.

Meanwhile, gay couples continued to obtain licenses at clerks' offices in Boulder, Denver and Pueblo counties. Boulder County has issued more than 100 licenses starting on June 25, when the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Utah's ban.

"I think that we will have marriage equality in Colorado before the United States Supreme Court rules on it," said Tom Russell, a University of Denver law professor who is among the attorneys who filed suit against the state.

On Wednesday, an Adams County judge called Colorado's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, but stayed the ruling. Nonetheless, gay couples sought marriage licenses where clerks issued them. In a separate decision, a judge on Thursday ruled Boulder County's clerk needn't stop issuing licenses, despite an order from state Attorney General John Suthers.

The legal ball, as it were, is now in Suthers' court.

In a statement, his office said the legal uncertainty "cries out for a resolution from the state's highest court" and that his office plans to move swiftly to "prevent a legal patchwork quilt from forming."

Fifty-five percent of Colorado voters approved an amendment in 2006 that outlaws gay marriage.

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