10th Circuit Court Says "No" To Same-Sex Marriage Ruling Stay In Kansas

In the aftermath of U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree's ruling earlier this week striking down Kansas' ban on gay marriage, the state requested an extension on the stay placed on the ruling.

The 10th Circuit Court has come back with a big, fat "No" as their response. From the ruling:

The district court granted preliminary injunctive relief to plaintiffs on November 4, enjoining defendants from enforcing or applying Kansas constitutional and statutory provisions that prohibit issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The district court then stayed its injunctive order until 5:00 p.m. on November 11.

Defendants immediately appealed the preliminary injunction ruling and also filed an emergency motion pursuant to 10th Cir. R. 8.1, asking this court to stay the district court’s injunctive order pending their appeal of the ruling.

We conclude that defendants have failed to make the showings necessary to obtain a stay, and we deny the emergency motion for a stay pending appeal.

We note that the district court’s temporary stay of its own preliminary injunction order remains in effect until 5:00 p.m. CST on November 11, 2014.

Bolding is mine.

The only thing that can stop gay marriage from beginning after 5PM on Tuesday in Kansas is a stay issued by SCOTUS.

And, unfortunately, I have a sense that's exactly what will happen.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor oversees the 10th Circuit goings-ons. A request for stay to SCOTUS would go to her. She could decide on the request herself, or hand it to the full SCOTUS to either stay the ruling or not.