Oklahoma County Awaits Order in Gay Marriage Case

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The clerk in Oklahoma's largest county says his office won't immediately begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in the case.

Oklahoma County Court Clerk Tim Rhodes says his office won't issue licenses until a stay is lifted by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier this year, the federal appeals court sided with a Tulsa couple challenging the same-sex marriage ban, but the panel put its ruling on hold as the case moves through the courts.

Rhodes says that stay must be lifted before he can begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday did not comment in rejecting appeals from Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.