According to the article that Impy posted, the 10th Circuit didn’t rule on the stay motion on the merits; it merely ruled that the motion was premature, since the state government had requested that the district judge stay his own ruling and the judge hadn’t ruled yet (the judge’s hearing will be today).
Yes, it was from an AP story posted today:
On Sunday, a federal appeals court rejected the state's emergency request stay the ruling, saying it couldn't rule on a stay since Shelby hasn't acted on the motion before him.
So yesterday's Reuters story was deliberately deceptive. It had the byline "New York" when it was the Tenth Circuit that refused the stay yesterday, solely on procedural grounds. Total journalistic malpractice by Reuters in failing to mention the basic facts, and leading the reader into false assumptions and conclusions!
If the district court judge refuses to stay his original ruling (which in all likelihood will happen) after today's hearing, the state of Utah will undoubtedly go back to the Tenth Circuit and ask the Tenth Circuit again to stay the district court ruling with the procedural barrier now removed.
In the meantime, these MSM articles make much ado about exulting gays and lesbians thronging to the marriage bureau in Salt Lake City (or whatever the heck its called there). I wonder what the majority of the people in Salt Lake City are thinking as they view this surreal scene unfolding before their eyes.