recognize same-sex unions On January 28, 2011, the House Judiciary Committee rejected a bill to legalize same-sex civil unions. On January 14, 2013, legislators filed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Wyoming by defining marriage as a civil contract between "two natural persons". On January 28, a House committee defeated the marriage bill by a vote of 5–4. A domestic partnership bill allowing same-sex couples to "obtain the rights, responsibilities, protections and legal benefits provided in Wyoming for immediate family members" was passed by a House committee on a vote of 7–2 on January 28. Legislators who favored same-sex marriage supported the legislative tactic of offering the alternatives. Governor Matt Mead said he favored domestic partnerships. The House rejected the bill on January 30, 2013 in a 24–35 vote. The House considered a same-sex marriage bill in 2014 but defeated it on February 13, 2014 by a vote of 17–41. Lawsuits Wyoming Governor Matt Mead said that despite action by the U.S. Supreme Court on October 6, 2014, which left standing as binding precedent on courts in Wyoming rulings of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that found bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, the Attorney General, Peter K. Michael, "will continue to defend Wyoming's constitution defining marriage between a man and a woman", mistakenly referring to the State Constitution, which does not define marriage. Clerks in Laramie, Natrona and Teton counties said they had received inquiries about issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but were waiting for a change in state law or an order from a judge. Guzzo v. Mead On October 7, 2014, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined appeals in two cases from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Kitchen v. Herbert and Bishop v. Smith, allowing decisions invalidating state bans on same-sex marriage to become binding precedent on courts in Wyoming, four same-sex couples and Wyoming Equality filed a lawsuit in federal court, Guzzo v. Mead, asking for an immediate order to end the state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples. Three of the couples had earlier initiated a lawsuit in state court and the fourth had just been denied a marriage license. They were represented by private attorneys and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. U.S. District Judge Scott W. Skavdahl ruled for the plaintiffs on October 17 and stayed enforcement of his ruling until 5 p.m. MDT on October 23 or until