A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Kansas to allow same-sex couples to marry pending the outcome of a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban, but he delayed enforcement of his order until next week to give the state time to appeal.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree issued a preliminary injunction barring the state from enforcing its same-sex marriage ban as of 5 p.m. next Tuesday, pending the outcome of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit challenging it.

“This is a great day for marriage equality in Kansas and for gay and lesbian couples, because now they can do what straight people have been able to do forever: They can get married,” said Doug Bonney, legal director of the ACLU’s Kansas chapter.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt, whose office has been defending the state’s constitutional ban, said he would quickly appeal. Gov. Sam Brownback’s spokeswoman, Eileen Hawley, said the governor took an oath to defend the Kansas Constitution and would work with Schmidt “to ensure an orderly judicial process in determining this issue and to avoid the confusion created by inconsistent judicial rulings.”

The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of two lesbian couples who were denied marriage licenses after an unexpected decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last month.

The high court refused to hear appeals from five states seeking to preserve similar gay-marriage bans that were struck down by federal appeals courts — but that decision extended to other states within the jurisdiction of those appellate courts. Among the original five states were Oklahoma and Utah, which like Kansas fall under the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Homosexual “marriage” is now legal in 32 states and the District of Columbia.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-orders-kansas-gay-couples-marry-26685791