the defendants informed the court that they would not appeal to the Tenth Circuit, whichever was first. Governor Mead's office released a statement that the state would decline to appeal the ruling, and notified the court on October 21 of that decision, at which point the judge lifted his stay and same-sex couples began obtaining marriage licenses. Wyoming is also required to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Jeran Artery of Wyoming Equality welcomed the court decision, and said "I wonder what Matthew Shepard would think if he were alive today to see all this progress we've made in Wyoming and how hearts and minds have changed. I would really hope that if I could have a conversation with him that he would say, 'Job well done. You are changing Wyoming and it makes me proud.'" Representative Gerald Gay said the issue should have been decided by voters. Among the first couples to receive a marriage license in Wyoming were Linda Mahaffey and Teresa Bingham, plaintiffs in Guzzo, who obtained a license in Laramie on Tuesday morning, October 21. Travis Gray and Dirk Andrews were the first couple to be issued a license in Casper, and A.J. McDaniel and Jennifer Mumaugh, also plaintiffs in Guzzo, were the first in Cheyenne, the state capital. Courage v. Wyoming On March 5, 2014, four same-sex couples and Wyoming Equality filed a lawsuit, Courage v. Wyoming, in the First Judicial District, challenging Wyoming's statutory ban on same-sex marriage and the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The plaintiffs were couples from Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie and Evanston who had married in Canada or Iowa or who had been denied marriages licenses by the Laramie County clerk. In April, former Senator Alan Simpson expressed his support for same-sex marriage, releasing a video in association with Freedom to Marry, "Whether you're gay or lesbian or straight, if you love someone and you want to marry them, marry them. [...] I'm a Republican. The party's basic core is, government out of your life and the right to be left alone." The state sought to dismiss the case, and on July 1, 2014 the plaintiffs sought summary judgment. On July 29, a judge denied the state's request for a stay of proceedings, but deferred a hearing on the motion for summary judgment for 90 days to give the state an opportunity to conduct discovery. On October 6,