Appeals Court Temporarily Blocks Ruling Striking Down Alaska's Gay Marriage Ban

A federal appeals court on Wednesday granted a temporary stay in the ruling that struck down Alaska's gay marriage ban.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess struck down the ban, which was approved by voters in 1998, on Sunday, saying it violates the 14^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Lawyers representing Republican Governor Sean Parnell turned to the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco after Burgess refused to set aside his ruling pending an appeal.

A 3-judge panel of the 9^th Circuit on Wednesday agreed to a temporary stay which expires on Friday.

“The court grants a temporary stay of the district court's October 12, 2014 order, until 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Friday, October 17, 2014, to afford appellants an opportunity to seek a stay from the United States Supreme Court,” the court wrote. “Barring any such stay from the Supreme Court, this court's temporary stay dissolves at 12:00 p.m. PDT on October 17, 2014.”

Last week, the Supreme Court denied a similar request from Idaho and gay couples began marrying on Wednesday.

Alaska started issuing marriage licenses to gay couples on Monday. In at least two cases, a judge waived the state's 3-day waiting period and married the couples.