--- description: County clerks in Colorado who have been issuing marriage licenses to gay couples might soon be ordered to stop title: Colorado AG Urges Clerks to Stop Issuing Gay-Marriage Licenses image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f2859ea968a7857/69869bc213c79f77c3193168/161225287.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [States](/tag/states/) ## States Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Colorado Attorney General Urges Clerks to Stop Issuing Gay-Marriage Licenses by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 15, 2014 8:04 AM CUT  Colorado attorney general John Suthers in his office on Wednesday, May 23, 2012. Colorado attorney general John Suthers in his office on Wednesday, May 23, 2012.Cyrus McCrimmon—The Denver Post/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 15, 2014 8:04 AM CUT County clerks in Colorado who have been issuing marriage licenses to gay couples might soon be ordered to stop, if an [appeal](http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci%5F26145701/judge-allows-denver-keep-issuing-marriage-licenses-gay "undefined") to the state’s supreme court by its attorney general is carried out. Calling the current situation “legal chaos,” where clerks are issuing licenses even though Colorado’s ban on same-sex marriage has not been struck down, attorney general John Suthers said the state is being forced to violate its own laws, reports the Denver _Post_. Suthers asked the supreme court to intervene after judges from some of the state’s lower courts refused to entertain a similar request, and allowed county clerks to continue giving gay couples marriage licenses. C. Scott Crabtree, a judge in Adams County District Court, ruled last week that the state’s ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional and denied a request to stop Denver clerks from issuing licenses to gay couples. A Boulder County judge also followed suit, and clerks in Denver and Pueblo began issuing licenses to same-sex couples. However, Suthers said the ban still stands, since Crabtree’s ruling has not yet taken effect. Most clerks in the state are continuing to issue these licenses because they are against the ban, and Suthers said he understands the issue is an emotional one. “But we simply cannot, as a matter of respect for the rule of law, ignore the processes by which laws are changed,” he said. \[[_The Denver Post_](http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci%5F26145701/judge-allows-denver-keep-issuing-marriage-licenses-gay "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2984797/colorado-attorney-general-urges-clerks-to-stop-issuing-gay-marriage-licenses/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2984797/colorado-attorney-general-urges-clerks-to-stop-issuing-gay-marriage-licenses/"},"headline":"Colorado Attorney General Urges Clerks to Stop Issuing Gay-Marriage Licenses","datePublished":"2014-07-15T08:04:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:08:54.979Z","description":"Attorney general says clerks are violating the law, since the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is still in effect","url":"https://time.com/2984797/colorado-attorney-general-urges-clerks-to-stop-issuing-gay-marriage-licenses/","keywords":["States","Gay Rights","Gay Marriage","Supreme Court","LGBT","attorney general"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f2859ea968a7857/69869bc213c79f77c3193168/161225287.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f2859ea968a7857/69869bc213c79f77c3193168/161225287.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Colorado Attorney General John Suthers talked about the Hayman Fire and the plea agreement deal with Terry Barton. 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