UPDATE – Lawyers File For Fifth Circuit To Lift Stay On Same Sex Marriage

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Attorneys for same-sex couples have asked a federal appeals court to remove a procedural block so gay marriages can begin in Mississippi.

It was not immediately clear when the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would consider the request.

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay marriage is legal nationwide.

But there was frustration among same-sex couples in Mississippi after state Attorney General Jim Hood said marriages could not start immediately.

A federal judge last year overturned Mississippi’s ban on gay marriage but put his own ruling on hold while the state appealed. Hood says the 5th Circuit must lift that hold before clerks can issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Three lesbian couples obtained licenses and married Friday in Hattiesburg amid confusion over when weddings can legally begin.