In criticizing Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum's decision to no longer defend the state's ban on gay marriage, Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), stated that there is a “good likelihood” that Utah will prevail at the Supreme Court in defending its ban.

Rosenblum said in an announcement Thursday that her office would no longer defend Oregon's 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment, calling it unconstitutional.

(Related: Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum won't defend state's gay marriage ban.)

Her actions were likely based on a separate ruling handed down last month by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees Oregon. In that decision the court stated that sexual orientation is subject to heightened scrutiny and it reached that conclusion based on last summer's Supreme Court ruling which struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Brown looked to the high court's decision to stay a lower court's ruling as proof that the bans would ultimately be declared constitutional.

“Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is shamefully abandoning her constitutional duty to defend the marriage amendment overwhelmingly enacted by the people of Oregon,” Brown wrote. “She swore an oath of office that she would enforce all the laws, not just those she personally agrees with. The people are entitled to a vigorous defense of the laws they enact, and the marriage amendment is no exception to that solemn obligation.”

“Further, Ms. Rosenblum is dead-wrong in her conclusion that the amendment cannot be supported by rational legal arguments. Just last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that regulating marriage is the purview of the states, not the federal government. Most recently, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ordered a decision to invalidate Utah's marriage amendment to be stayed, strongly signaling that the Court believes there is a good likelihood that the state will win its appeal against the ruling issued by an activist federal judge.”

“Marriage is our only institution that exists to bring men and women together to benefit the couple and to provide an ideal environment for any children produced by their union. It can and must be defended as a unique, essential and profoundly good institution,” he added.