The state of Utah has filed an emergency motion requesting that U.S. Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor suspend same-sex marriages in the state after a recent ruling that created legal recognition for the unions.

“Until the final word has been spoken by this Court or the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of Utah’s marriage laws, Utah should not be required to enforce Judge Shelby’s view of a new and fundamentally different definition of marriage,” the state wrote.

Sotomayor is the Supreme Court justice tasked with addressing requests from the Rocky Mountain region.

Earlier this month, a U.S. District judge ruled that Utah’s bar on legal recognition of same-sex marriages was unconstitutional, allowing hundreds of gay couples to get marriage licenses. The court to which Utah appealed the decision turned down the state’s requests to stay the ruling three times prior to the filing with Sotomayor. Governor Gary Herbert has asked the state to comply with the judge’s ruling even as his government appeals the decision.