WASHINGTON (AP) -€” Justice Clarence Thomas is suggesting that the Supreme Court was divided over whether to hear the gay marriage cases the justices rejected last month without comment.

Thomas made reference to the same-sex marriage cases Thursday in a statement he attached to a high court order in an unrelated immigration case from Arizona.

He said he doesn’t understand why the court did not hear appeals from five states that sought to preserve their bans on same-sex weddings.

The court often reviews decisions striking down state laws. But Thomas said it has been inconsistent about that recently “for reasons that escape me.”

Justice Antonin Scalia signed onto the statement.

It takes four justices to grant review of a lower court decision.