KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal judge has declared Missouri’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional but delayed the effect of the ruling pending a possible appeal by the state.

U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith issued the ruling Friday in a lawsuit filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two couples who were denied marriage licenses earlier this year in Jackson County, home of Kansas City.

However, the ruling had no immediate impact because of Smith’s decision to delay its implementation.

The ruling comes just days after a St. Louis Circuit judge also ruled that Missouri’s ban on gay marriage violated the U.S. Constitution. St. Louis city and county have begun issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as a result of that ruling, but most other counties have not.