INDIANAPOLIS — Same-sex couples who rushed to courthouses across Indiana during the three days it was legal for them to get married there could face months before they learn whether their unions are valid.

Legal experts disagreed about the issue Saturday, and it isn’t certain a clear answer will be reached any time soon.

A federal appeals court issued a stay Friday that put on hold a U.S. district judge’s ruling that struck down Indiana’s prohibition on gay marriage. But Judge Richard Young’s ruling Wednesday that the ban was unconstitutional was in effect for three days, during which hundreds of gay and lesbian couples obtained marriage licenses and many were wed.

The question that’s unsettled is whether Indiana has to recognize those marriages.


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