Colorado officials on Wednesday said they would not defend the state's ban on gay marriage in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper and Republican Attorney General John Suthers asked a federal court to declare invalid the state's ban but delay implementation until the Supreme Courts has ruled in a separate but similar case.

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver last week upheld a lower court's ruling striking down Utah's restrictive marriage ban. The ruling has reverberated in Colorado, which is under the Tenth Circuit's jurisdiction.

Boulder County Clerk Hillary Hall cited the ruling in announcing she would begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

Plaintiffs challenging the ban – six gay and lesbian couples – immediately cued up the Utah decision, known as Kitchen v. Herbert, in their complaint.

“This is a civil rights action for injunctive and declaratory relief seeking to declare unconstitutional under the United States Constitution, Colorado's Constitutional Amendment 43 and other Colorado laws banning same-sex marriage. Simply put, 'A state may not deny the issuance of a marriage license to two persons, or refuse to recognize their marriage, based solely upon the sex of the persons in the marriage union.' This is because 'the Fourteenth Amendment protects the fundamental right to marry, establish a family, raise children, and enjoy the full protection of a state's marital laws.' So held the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Kitchen v. Herbert.”

In response, the state said: “On account of the Kitchen decision, the Defendants do not oppose the entry of a preliminary injunctive relief in favor of the Plaintiffs based on their constitutional claims at this time, to be stayed pending until all final appeals in the Kitchen case are resolved.”

Utah Governor Gary Herbert has repeatedly vowed to pursue the case all the way to the Supreme Court.

Hickenlooper in 2013 signed the state's civil unions law and has stated his support for marriage equality.

(Related: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper endorses gay marriage.)