A federal appeals court has cleared the way for gay marriages to start in Kansas next week.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Friday denied a request from the state to block an order from a lower-court judge preventing Kansas from enforcing its ban on gay marriage.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree put on hold the order he issued this week until 5 p.m. Tuesday to give Kansas time to appeal. The state did, asking the appeals court to issue a stay to keep the gay-marriage ban in place until the appeals judges resolved the case.

But the 10th Circuit refused.

It ruled in a federal lawsuit by two lesbian couples who were denied marriage licenses.

A separate gay-marriage case is before the Kansas Supreme Court.