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The six plaintiffs in the lawsuit to overturn Utah's ban on same-sex marriage will be honored as heroes this summer by the Utah Pride Festival.
The three couples — Laurie Wood and Kody Partridge, Moudi Sbeity and Derek Kitchen, and Kate Call and Karen Archer — have been named grand marshals of the Utah Pride Parade, set for Sunday, June 8, in downtown Salt Lake City.
On Dec. 20, a federal judge hearing the couples' lawsuit ruled that Utah's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. That afternoon began a 17-day period in which more than 1,200 gay and lesbian couples legally received marriage licenses in Utah — until the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of the judge's ruling, pending an appeal.
The couples will be treated to a reception Friday, June 6, at the City-County Building, 450 S. State St., Salt Lake City.
The Pride Festival's theme this year is "Love Equals Love."
The couples right now are in Denver, where their case is being heard Thursday by a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.