request to halt them calling the ban unconstitutional. i never thought i would see this in my lifetime. i m so grateful to finally have the protection of the state. this is it. it s go time. reporter: hundreds of lgbt couples lining up at clerk s offices weathering frigid temperatures. and long waits to tie the knot, getting their hands on marriage lip senses. try number four for us. reporter: it s a victory nine years in the making since the state s ban in 2004. utah joins the nation s capital and 17 other states that legalized same sex marriage. it s huge deal because for mormon whose have been spending these years fighting this battle they ve seen it happen across the country but didn t expect to it dome their backyard. reporter: the conservative states refusing to back down, filed an appeal in the 10th circuit court the state s governor accusing shelby being an activist federal judge and said he s working to determine the best course to defend
didn t he stay the appeal. why didn t he say let s see how this plays out in court. it s long journey and been a long journey for members of the gay and lesbian community and bean long time coming. as you mentioned, 18 states now, 32 that don t. just tissue, i mean the judge was relying on equal protection. it s big. it s the 14th amendment. the 14th amendment has historically been used for many things that relate to equality whether gender, race, and now of course whether it affects same sex marriages and so what the judge is doing is saying look the time has come, he refused to stay the ban which of course would have been a big win for the state to say identify analyzed this and as i read the constitution and 14th amendment this is wrong, it s improper and there s going same sex marriages in utah. ohio also. you can t underestimate the impact of the ohio ruling. a federal judge there issued a major ruling that states have to
recognize same sex marriages even if it s baned and that really does have major implications going forward because if you re married in utah you go to colorado, you still get the same rights you would otherwise have. in the united states different states have recognized marriages in other states for a long, long time and it s important to understand the ohio case is really a narrow issue. it s not really the right to marry. it s, if you re already married in another state can another state divest you of that marriage? it really doesn t implicate any fundamental right to marry except as it relates to if you ve gone to another state does ohio, is highwohio obligat recognize that marriage. for example, if you re married and you re 0 below the age of minority ohio would recognize, ohio will recognize that marriage even if celebrated in another state. right. which is really extraordinary. so got 18 states now that have said, okay, same sex marriage
traditional marriage twin borders of utah. it s that much harder for conservatives to make the case this can be stopped when utah one of the most conservative states in the country has now legalized it. once the dominos start falling you can t stop it. you may kiss. reporter: miguel marquez, cnn, new york. on top of that in ohio yesterday a judge ruled the state must recognize same sex marriages on death certificates. same sex marriage is banned in ohio but the judge said if a couple was married in another state then ohio cannot take that away and that could pave the way for a challenge to the state s ban. our legal panel joins me now. cnn legal analyst and hln legal analyst. gentlemen first of all, utah is the 18th state to allow gay marriage. the judge basically said it was not a threat to traditional marriage as the state argued. so what does this mean and why
gridlock is get outside of the beltway. 32 miles outside, in fact. 32 miles from the united states capitol, the maryland statehouse in a three-month legislative session. only three months. sent the following bills to governor martin o malley, most of which he signed today. the first bill o malley signed today made maryland the 18th state to abolish the death penalty. the first below the mason dixon line. governor o malley also signed a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to get state driver s licenses and a bill to expand early voting. he also signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana and will soon sign a gun safety bill that mandates background checks, bans certain kinds of assault weapons, and limits magazines to holding ten bullets. what a difference 32 miles makes. coming up in the spotlight, hillary clinton drops another hint, if you think these are hints, about what you already know about her future. but what other women are angling