Unlike other cases challenging state bans on gay marriage, a lawsuit challenging Guam's ban won't wait for the Supreme Court to rule in a similar case.

Federal District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood announced Friday that the case will proceed later this month. The nation's highest court is expected to hand down a ruling in a case challenging bans in four states next month.

While Guam Attorney General Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson has refused to defend the ban in court, Republican Governor Eddie Calvo, a defendant in the case, said the ban reflects “the will of the people.” A private attorney is representing Calvo in the matter, The Washington Post reported.

Plaintiffs in the case, Kathleen Aguero and Loretta Pangelinana, both 28, filed their lawsuit in April, five days after they were denied a marriage license in the village of Mangilao.

Guam falls under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The court has struck down restrictive marriage bans in Nevada, Alaska, Arizona, Idaho and Montana. Gay couples can marry in every state under the court's control, including California, Hawaii and Washington.

Currently, no U.S. territory has marriage equality.