SALT LAKE CITY — It was just before the close of business on Dec. 20, 2013, when U.S. District Court Judge Robert Shelby issued a historic ruling.
Amendment 3, Utah's ban on same-sex marriage, had been declared unconstitutional.
"A place like Utah was the kindling that sparked the big fire," said Derek Kitchen, the lead plaintiff in the case.
The case was Kitchen v. Herbert and it paved the way for marriage equality in Utah. On the 10-year anniversary, both the lead plaintiff and the lead defendant reflected on it in interviews with FOX 13 News.
"It’s certainly a landmark case and a landmark decision," former Governor Gary Herbert said.
The lawsuit was brought against Herbert and the state of Utah by three same-sex couples (Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeiti; Kody Partridge and Laurie Wood; Karen Archer and Kate Call) challenging Utah's constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman that had been approved by voters nearly a decade before.
"I was sick of being treated unequally by my state government and I knew that somebody had to stand up and do something," Kitchen said.
For Herbert, being sued was nothing unusual nor was it surprising. As the leader of the state, he was regularly named in statutory legal challenges.
"It's been historically a state's role to define marriage and the marriage laws that go with it," Herbert said.
But Judge Shelby's ruling took both Kitchen and Herbert by surprise.
"It was far from certain that we’d be successful, but I knew that by putting my name on a federal lawsuit and taking Sean Reyes and Governor Herbert to court, that we would at least change the conversation and allow people to imagine a different world," Kitchen recalled.
Herbert said the court considered a "legal theory" of the constitution and the 14th Amendment.
"The argument was, we want to be just like everybody else, so I understand that. The courts came down and said 'Yes, we define that as a constitutional right,'" he said.
Judge Shelby issued no stay of his ruling, so hundreds of LGBTQ couples rushed to their county clerk's offices to seek marriage licenses. The Salt Lake County Clerk's Office stayed open late, marrying couples as news cameras filmed people kissing and crying tears of joy.
As soon as the courthouse opened, the Utah Attorney General's Office sought an emergency stay. Judge Shelby refused and marriages continued.
"I just think about all the happy couples that were married on that surprise Friday, five days before Christmas," Kitchen said. "The fight that followed not only between the state but me and Governor Herbert and the long stretch of time the appeal took."
Over the next year, the state of Utah pursued appeals to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court (which upheld the marriage ruling) and the U.S. Supreme Court. As soon as the nation's top court refused to hear the case, Gov. Herbert dropped the fight and instructed state agencies to recognize the marriages.
"I didn’t really have a problem making that decision," Herbert recalled. "You know what, the law is now clear as we went through the process with the appeal and the Supreme Court denying cert. It’s over."
Kitchen went on to marry his then-fiancée, Moudi Sbeiti (they later divorced) and got into politics himself. He eventually was elected to the Utah State Senate and worked with Herbert on some issues. He now lives in Washington D.C. and works for the Biden administration.
It would be two years after Kitchen v. Herbert that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality in Obergefell v. Hodges.
"For me to be that first domino makes me really proud to be a member of the LGBTQ community and makes me proud to do that in a place like Utah," he told FOX 13 News.
Herbert said the impact of Kitchen v. Herbert is probably different for a lot of people.
"I still have some concerns about the federal government overriding state rights. That’s a broader issue," he told FOX 13 News. "Overall, a good thing? Bad thing? Probably that’s personal with people, with how they feel about it. I don’t think it’s made much difference and change in how we interact with each other."
Herbert said he does have his own views on marriage, but he has no regrets over how Utah argued the case and wished Kitchen well.
"I have no bad feelings at all. In fact, I only have good things. It was a good experience for us as a state to go through," he said. "Overall, we had an outcome not everyone agrees with, but we certainly lived with it and learned to get along."
Kitchen said he's proud of his place in Utah history.
"I'll never forget the feeling of joy that came from not only winning, but looking at those happy couples and seeing their faces," he said. "Realizing the decision that came down from the federal court positively impacted not only my life and the lives of the people that I loved, but complete strangers. The fact that by putting myself out there, by filing this case, taking that leap of faith it would forever positively impact people who I'll never have a chance to meet."
Others reflected on the anniversary of Kitchen v. Herbert on Tuesday.
"These were days of tears, hugs and so much love. There were many people who fought to make this day a reality," Equality Utah Executive Director Troy Williams wrote in an email, thanking the plaintiffs and the lawyers and activists who worked the case.
"These incredible people, alongside so many other thousands of Utahns who marched, protested, and rallied -- changed the course of Utah and U.S. history."
Governor Spencer Cox also reflected on the anniversary of the landmark case when asked about it by FOX 13 News at his monthly news conference. He pointed out that members of Utah's Republican congressional delegation voted to support the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified same-sex marriage (and had support from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
"I think there has been a major shift in making sure we’re protecting people's rights and I wish nothing but the best for those couples who have been married and are trying to make marriage work for them," the governor said Tuesday. "Obviously, I have a different personal view of what that is and what that should be. But from a legal standpoint? I think that’s really important and I'm grateful to see this is one area where we have seen people coming together."
