U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby, who ruled that banning gay marriage in Utah was unconstitutional, has denied a request made by the state to halt weddings during an appeals process.
The federal judge heard the state's request on Monday as same-sex couples were lined up around courthouses throughout the state as they worried that the judge would accept the state's request, reports The New York Times.
"We were just overcome with emotion, Nicole Campolucci said after managing to get married in the morning. "I wasn't expecting that. I had held it together all night. I wasn't expecting to burst into tears. It was a definite relief."
Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert calls the original ruling, a move made by an activist judge and announced the state would be appealing and would look for a halt to the marriages by going to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
It was reported late last week that Shelby had ruled that the 2004 state law banning same sex marriage was unconstitutional and he had said in his written ruling that the law denied gay marriage for "no rational reason."