Kansas is likely to become the 33rd state in the nation to allow same-sex couples to marry after a federal judge struck down its gay-marriage ban, the Kansas City Star reported. U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree said his ruling reflects an appeals court opinion that held such bans to be unconstitutional.

Gay couples will not be issued marriage licenses yet, however, because the district court's injunction would not take effect until Nov. 11 unless the state opts not to challenge Crabtree's decision. That seems unlikely as Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said the state would "promptly appeal."

"Judging the constitutionality of democratically enacted laws is among 'the gravest and most delicate' enterprises a federal court ever undertakes," Crabtree's opinion noted. "But just as surely, following precedent is a core component of the rule of law. When the Supreme Court or the Tenth Circuit has established a clear rule of law, our Court must follow it."

Voters in Kansas had passed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in 2005. Ahead of today's decision, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Kansas, had struck down gay-marriage bans in Oklahoma and Utah earlier this year, NBC News explained.

"When the Supreme Court justices declined to review (that and) similar cases ... marriage equality became the law of the land throughout the states where those cases originated (and) throughout the other states with same-sex marriage bans that belong to the same circuits," the network added. The states that fall under these categories are Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The lawsuit in Kansas had been brought by two lesbian couples, one from Wichita and the other from Lecompton, according to the Kansas City Star. "Doug Bonney, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, noted that one of the couples in the case, Kail Marie and Michelle Brown of Lecompton, have been together for 21 years," the newspaper said.