SANDY, Utah -- The reverberations of Wednesday's controversial U.S. Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage continue to echo.
Hundreds of Utahns fear the highest court is eroding traditional marriage. Some of Utah's most conservative lawmakers joined with various religious groups at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy Wednesday for an event supporting traditional marriage.
It was called a "Celebration of Marriage," but Utah Senator Stuart Reid, R-District 18, opened with a prayer, in which he said Wednesday was a sorrowful day in America.
State Representative LaVar Christensen, R- District 32, echoed similar thoughts as he spoke to more than 500 people. Christensen helped pave the way for Utah's Constitutional Amendment 3, which outlawed same-sex marriage in the state in 2004.
"America needs Utah like never before,” Christensen said. “We need to be a light on the hill for truth and confidence. We are with a majority, a handful chose to go a different way.”
With the highest court ruling that California's Proposition 8 lacked standing, California could resume performing same-sex marriages in a matter of days. The decision also opens the door for individual states to decide whether they'll legalize same-sex marriage.
Protestors outside the expo center said they believe it's just a matter of time before same-sex marriage is legal nationwide. They said a majority of Americans do not stand with the viewpoints expressed at the "Celebration of Marriage"event.
"I think that they're afraid of something that's different than what they know,” same-sex marriage supporter Steve Holbrook said. “People 20 years ago were afraid of traditional marriage being threatened by inter-racial marriage, and those people were very afraid back then and the world advanced and it's OK to marry someone from a different race.”
Traditional marriage supporters believe the U.S. Supreme Court disregarded a silent majority from states like California, and some say it's just the beginning of a further divide over the definition of marriage.
