The Supreme Court has refused to block a controversial initiative in Massachusetts permitting the United States' first legal gay marriages beginning next Monday, according to lawyers involved in the case.
The court's decision late Friday not to get involved in the case clears the way for the north-eastern state to allow gays and lesbians to marry one another, in one of the nation's most controversial legal reforms in years.
The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled last November that an existing ban on gay marriage violated the state constitution.
The ruling, however, is being challenged by local conservatives who argue that marriage can only involve a man and a woman. With the US Supreme Court unwilling to get involved, the case returns to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear oral arguments on June 7.
"The battle over same-sex marriage is far from over. In fact, it is just beginning," said Mathew Staver, president and general counsel for Liberty Counsel, who will represent gay marriage opponents in the appeals court. "The circumstances in Massachusetts underscore the need for a federal constitutional amendment to preserve marriage between one man and one woman," he added.
A constitutional amendment specifically banning same-sex marriages was adopted by the state legislature in March, but could only come into effect in late 2006 at the earliest.