SALT LAKE CITY — The state of Utah is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a man who is seeking the right to marry his computer.
In an apparent protest over same-sex marriage, Chris Sevier filed a lawsuit against the Utah County Clerk, Governor Gary Herbert and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes for not granting him a license to marry his laptop. News reports show Sevier, a disbarred attorney, has tried similar lawsuits in other states. (Sevier also tried to intervene in Utah’s defense of a lawsuit filed over same-sex marriage here.)
In response to the lawsuit on Friday, the state of Utah asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit outright. The Utah Attorney General’s Office gave a long list of reasons why the lawsuit lacks any merit — including that computers cannot consent to marriage.
Ironically, the state of Utah, which fought same-sex marriage for years in the courts, found itself in the position of defending it in the filing.
“Contrary to Sevier’s assertions, the definition of marriage to include same-sex marriage does not dictate that Sevier espouse a belief in same-sex marriage or punish Sevier for speaking out against same-sex marriage. Nothing in the definition of marriage purports to restrict Sevier’s thoughts or discussion of his beliefs regarding marriage, including man-object marriage,” the state wrote in its filing.
Utah County Clerk Bryan Thompson was even more blunt.
“This is a case where a party is attempting to create a federal claim out of nothing. The Complaint contains nothing more than a political diatribe,” Thompson’s attorney wrote.
A judge is being asked to reject the lawsuit and block Sevier from refiling it.
Read the Utah Attorney General’s filing here:
