The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel, which heard arguments in August on gay marriage bans or restrictions in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee, split 2-1, with Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton writing the majority opinion.

The ruling creates a divide among federal appeals courts, increasing the likelihood the Supreme Court will now take up the issue.

The ruling concluded that states have the right to set rules for marriage.

It followed more than 20 court victories for supporters of same-sex marriage since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year. A federal judge in Louisiana recently upheld that state's ban, but four U.S. appeals courts ruled against state bans.

The issue appears likely to return to the Supreme Court so the nation's highest court can settle whether states can ban gay marriage or that gay and lesbian couples have a fundamental right to marry under the U.S. Constitution.

Thirty-two states recently asked the Supreme Court to settle the issue once and for all.

The high court on October 6 unexpectedly turned away appeals from five states seeking to prohibit gay and lesbian unions. The court's order effectively made gay marriage legal in 30 states. The next day, the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned same-sex marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently told a Minnesota audience that the 6th Circuit's then-pending ruling would likely influence the high court's timing, and said there would be "some urgency" if the 6th Circuit allowed same-sex marriage bans to stand.

Before the 9th's October 7 ruling, three other appellate courts, the 10th Circuit in Denver, the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Virginia, and the 7th Circuit in Chicago, overturned statewide gay marriage bans in Wisconsin, Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia over the summer, ruling that they were unconstitutional.

During the 6th Circuit's August 6 arguments, Judge Sutton vigorously questioned each side's attorneys, though he repeatedly expressed deep skepticism that the courts were the best place to legalize gay marriage, saying that the way to win Americans' hearts and minds is to wait until they're ready to vote for it.

Michigan's and Kentucky's cases stem from rulings striking down each state's gay marriage bans.

Ohio's two cases deal only with the state's recognition of out-of-state gay marriages, while Tennessee's is narrowly focused on the rights of three same-sex couples.

Plaintiffs include a Cincinnati man who wants his late husband listed as married on his death certificate so they can be buried next to each other in a family-only plot and a Tennessee couple who both want to be listed on their newborn daughter's birth certificate.

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