Weddings, court rulings and confusion are defining a week that started with the U.S. Supreme Court denying appeals from five states seeking to retain their bans on same-sex marriage. Here's a rundown of the most recent developments: 
 
 Jefferson Ruck, center, and Thomas Topovski, left react with others as they hear they can get a marriage license at the Marriage License Bureau Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014, in Las Vegas. The two were one of... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, Antioco Carri and Theo Small hold-up their marriage license after being the first couple in line at the Clark County Marriage License Bureau in Downtown... (Associated Press) 
 
 Sara Meadows, left, and Jennifer Rose, both of Charleston, S.C., fill out an application for a marriage license at the Probate Court office in Charleston, S.C., on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. Later in the... (Associated Press) 
 
 Jeff Ayers, left, the chairman of the board of South Carolina Equality, and Nichols Bleckley, who with her her partner has applied for a same-sex marriage license, read a statement from a probate judge... (Associated Press) 
 
 ___ 
 
 IDAHO, NORTH CAROLINA LEGAL OBSTACLES FALL 
 
 Legal obstacles to gay marriage have fallen in Idaho and North Carolina. 
 
 The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order Friday that appears to have cleared the way for gay marriages in conservative Idaho. Gay rights supporters are cheering in Boise as state officials were trying to determine when weddings might take place. At least one county clerk in Idaho began issuing same-sex marriage licenses. 
 
 Meanwhile, a federal judge in North Carolina has struck down the state's gay marriage ban, opening the way for the first same-sex weddings in the state to begin immediately. The ruling follows Monday's announcement by the U.S. Supreme Court that it would not hear any appeals of cases before the 4th Circuit Court, which has jurisdiction over North Carolina. 
 
 ___ 
 
 GOING TO THE CHAPEL 
 
 Gay couples in Las Vegas cheered at the marriage license bureau when anticipation became reality, and the county clerk began granting same-sex partners the right to wed Thursday evening. To boost awareness, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority placed a full page ad in USA Today on Friday featuring two groom cake-toppers with a view of Vegas in the background. 
 
 ___ 
 
 WAITING ON CINCINNATI 
 
 There also is growing anticipation for a ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati. 
 
 A three-judge panel heard arguments two months ago on challenges to gay marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, the biggest hearing of its kind on the issue. 
 
 Its eventual ruling could help determine when or even whether the Supreme Court takes up the issue. There has been no indication of a timetable by the 6th Circuit. 
 
 ___ 
 
 OOPS 
 
 The marriage confusion tripped up even someone who should have known better. 
 
 Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy mistakenly blocked the start of same-sex marriage in Nevada in an order that confused state officials and disappointed couples. Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg confirmed the mix-up Thursday, saying Kennedy's order a day earlier was an error that the justice corrected with a second order several hours later. 
 
 The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco declared bans on same-sex marriage in Idaho and Nevada illegal Tuesday. Idaho quickly asked the Supreme Court for a delay, but Nevada planned to allow same-sex weddings to proceed. The trouble arose because Idaho's request to the court included a document from the appeals court that listed case numbers for both states. 
 
 ___ 
 
 CHRISTIE'S THOUGHTS 
 
 New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says it shouldn't be up to the Supreme Court to decide whether states allow gay marriage. The Republican governor, widely viewed as a contender for president in 2016, says he believes states should decide the issue. Christie opposes same-sex marriage but dropped his administration's legal challenge last year. He says he's been upholding the law allowing gay marriage in his state since then. Christie had avoided commenting on the court's decision at a campaign stop this week. 
 
 ___ 
 
 MOVEMENT IN OTHER STATES 
 
 — Alaska: A federal judge heard arguments Friday on the first gay marriage ban passed in the U.S., but he didn't issue a ruling. Gay couples have sued to overturn the ban. The state says the question of whether to define marriage to include gay couples should be decided by citizens, not the courts. Voters approved the ban in 1998. 
 
 — Arizona: A federal judge has said a 9th Circuit ruling apparently "controls the outcome" of Arizona's gay marriage ban. The state is covered by the appellate court that struck down bans in Idaho and Nevada. Marriages have not begun in Arizona. 
 
 — Arkansas: The state Supreme Court refused to delay a challenge to Arkansas' gay marriage ban, rejecting the state attorney general who had asked the court to put the case on hold. 
 
 — Indiana: The University of Notre Dame told employees its granting health care and other benefits to same-sex spouses after the Supreme Court's ruling. The Catholic university's move came Wednesday, a day after the state attorney general said marriage licenses must be issued to gay couples. 
 
 — South Carolina: The state Supreme Court ordered lower state courts to refrain from issuing same-sex marriage licenses until a federal judge decides whether the state constitution's ban on the unions is legal. 
 
 — West Virginia: Gay couples have begun receiving marriage licenses after the state's attorney general dropped his fight opposing same-sex unions. 
 
 ___ 
 
 SO, HOW MANY STATES ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE? 
 
 It's a little complicated. Before the Supreme Court's denial, there were 19 states that firmly allowed gay marriage. 
 
 The Supreme Court's action Monday added five states, plus six others that were affected because they were in the same federal circuits that appealed. That would make 30 states allowing gay marriage, but some of them are still trying to block it or haven't yet instituted mechanisms for weddings. 
 
 Court rulings in favor of gay marriage in Idaho, Nevada and North Carolina, effectively bring the total to 32, but marriages have yet to take place in Idaho or North Carolina. 
 
 So, how many states allow gay marriage? About 30, give or take. ||||| RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Minutes after a federal judge in Asheville struck down North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriages, Amy Cantrell and Lauren White rushed out of a county office with their newly printed marriage license and exchanged vows on the front steps, their two children in tow. 
 
 Partners Amy Litton, left, and Tonya Edge embrace each other after an announcement that there will be no marriages performed at the Wake County Courthouse in Raleigh, N.C. on Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. U.S.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Partners Vicki Britt and Trish Philbrook hold hands as Register of Deeds Laura Riddick announces there will be no marriages performed at the Wake County Courthouse in Raleigh, N.C. on Friday, Oct. 10,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Vicki Britt wipes away tears as her partner, Trish Philbrook, comforts her during the announcement that there will be no marriages performed at the Wake County Courthouse in Raleigh, N.C. on Friday, Oct.... (Associated Press) 
 
 "This is it folks," exclaimed the Rev. Lisa Bovee-Kemper, a Unitarian Universalist minister from Asheville, to cheering supporters. "By the power vested in me by the state of North Carolina, I now pronounce you married." 
 
 The 42-year-old Cantrell, a minister herself, was exuberant. "We've been waiting for this day for years," she said. 
 
 The couple of six years have 8-month-old twins: Myla and Eleecia. 
 
 "I thought I might pass out at one point," added White, 29. "Pretty typical bride stuff." 
 
 U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. issued his ruling shortly after 5 p.m. In the chaotic moments afterward, it was difficult to discern exactly who were the first same-sex couple in North Carolina to get legally hitched in their home state. 
 
 In the state capital of Raleigh, the register of deeds reopened her office after hearing of the ruling and began issuing licenses to waiting couples. 
 
 Wake County Sheriff's deputies Chad Biggs, 35, and Chris Creech, 46, were among the first to wed there. They have been together for eight years. 
 
 "Even before this I was happy, but I think now that it's on paper and it's legal — it's a commitment between two people," Biggs said. 
 
 Cogburn's ruling followed Monday's announcement by the U.S. Supreme Court that it would not hear any appeal of a July ruling by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond striking down Virginia's ban. That court has jurisdiction over North Carolina. 
 
 "North Carolina's laws prohibiting same-sex marriage are unconstitutional as a matter of law," wrote Cogburn, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Barack Obama. "The issue before this court is neither a political issue nor a moral issue. It is a legal issue." 
 
 Though Cogburn's federal judicial district only covers the western third of the state, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said through a spokeswoman that the federal ruling applies statewide. Cooper, a Democrat, had previously decided not to continue defending the ban after concluding that all possible legal defenses had been exhausted. He declined to be interviewed. 
 
 Cogburn ruled moments after a different federal judge in Greensboro, Chief U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen Jr., put off a decision in two cases he oversees until at least next week. The delay followed a last-ditch effort by Republican leaders at the state legislature to intervene in the cases. Cogburn denied their request. 
 
 House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate Leader Phil Berger said they were disappointed. Tillis is currently campaigning for U.S. Senate. 
 
 "While we recognize the tremendous passion on all sides of this issue, we promised to defend the will of North Carolina voters because they — not judges and not politicians — define marriage as between one man and one woman and placed that in our state constitution," the Republican legislators said in a joint statement. 
 
 A statement released by Gov. Pat McCrory's office late Friday said all state agencies would comply with the judge's ruling and change their operations accordingly. 
 
 The case in which Cogburn ruled was filed by a group of clergy members seeking to marry same-sex couples, making the argument that their inability to do so under state law was an unconstitutional abridgment of their religious freedom. 
 
 "We celebrate knowing that this shameful chapter in North Carolina's history has passed," said the Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality. "At the same time we know that you can still be fired simply for being gay in North Carolina. Protection from discrimination in the workplace is the next step in our push for full equality." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Weiss reported from Charlotte. Associated Press Writer Emery P. Dalesio in Raleigh contributed to this report. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow Associated Press Writer Michael Biesecker on Twitter.com/mbieseck ||||| Sharene (L) and Lori Watsen appear with lawyers and fellow plaintiffs that sued the state over a gay marriage ban hold a press conference outside of the James A. McClure Federal Building and US Courthouse in Boise, Idaho October 7, 2014. 
 
 WASHINGTON County clerks in Idaho and North Carolina began issuing their states' first marriage licenses to gay couples on Friday after court actions that capped a week of victories for supporters of same-sex matrimony in America. 
 
 The move came as barriers to gay marriage fell state by state this week and followed days of back-and-forth federal court actions that could soon see legal weddings for same-sex couples extended to 35 states. 
 
 The U.S. Supreme Court removed a temporary hold it imposed earlier in the week in Idaho's case, giving a green light for same-sex nuptials in the mountainous state. 
 
 Susan Petersen, clerk of Latah County in northwest Idaho which includes the college town of Moscow, said she issued her first license to a lesbian couple after getting guidance from county legal advisers. 
 
 But there was no immediate word on whether permits were being issued elsewhere in the state. A spokesman for Idaho's attorney general said officials were awaiting a mandate from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to proceed. 
 
 The state's Republican governor, C.L. "Butch" Otter, said the move to allow gay marriage ran "contrary to the values of most Idahoans" and undermined fundamental states' rights. 
 
 "But we are a nation of laws," Otter said in a statement. "Idaho now should proceed with civility and in an orderly manner to comply with any forthcoming order from the 9th Circuit." 
 
 The 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over much of the western United States, overturned gay marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada on Tuesday, although the Idaho ruling was briefly put on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court at the state's request. 
 
 Nevada, where officials indicated they were ready to embrace same-sex matrimony, began issuing marriage licenses to gay couples on Thursday. 
 
 'EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER' 
 
 Ty Carson, 41 of Boise, said she hoped soon to marry her partner of 16 years, with whom she has three children, even as the late afternoon timing of the decision meant couples might have to wait until Tuesday to wed, after a long holiday weekend. 
 
 "We've been here before," Carson said. "The reason we're going through this emotional roller coaster is so that our kids can one day laugh about how this used to be against the law." 
 
 The U.S. Supreme Court action on Friday capped a week in which its nine justices played a crucial role in paving the way for gay marriage in up to 11 states where it was previously illegal. 
 
 On Monday, the justices declined to hear appeals in seven different cases, leaving intact other regional appeals court rulings that struck down gay marriage prohibitions in five states, and could indirectly impact six more. 
 
 In North Carolina, U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn knocked down that state's ban, saying in his ruling that it was neither a political nor a moral issue. 
 
 "It is a legal issue and it is clear as a matter of what is now settled law," Cogburn wrote. 
 
 North Carolina's Republican Governor, Pat McCrory, said the administration will execute the court's order, and at least one county office said they will issue licenses on Friday. 
 
 Drew Reisinger, the Buncombe County Register of Deeds, said it was an honor to acknowledge "the full equality and humanity" of those seeking to marry, and he said his office will stay open late on Friday to meet the expected demand. 
 
 (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley in Washington and Laura Zuckerman in Jackson, Wyoming; Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins in Charleston; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Marguerita Choy and Sandra Maler)
– This week's flurry of court rulings made it a little tricky to keep track of which states allow gay marriage. The upshot is that the Supreme Court's moves added seven more states to the yes column: Idaho, Indiana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin, bringing the total number of states that allow same-sex marriage to 26, reports the New York Times. (That doesn't include DC, which also allows them.) But things gets a little complicated because more states were affected by the rulings, those that happened to be in the same federal circuits as other states that appealed. The Times' take: "The legal ripple effects from the various appeals court rulings the Supreme Court tacitly sustained should soon raise that number to 35." Reuters, too, goes with that number, reporting that legal weddings for gay couples could soon be "extended to 35 states." AP, meanwhile, settles for an answer of "about 30, give or take." It will take a little time for those "legal ripple effects" to play out. In North Carolina, for instance, a federal district judge struck down the state's ban on gay marriage yesterday, and couples immediately started getting married, reports AP in a separate story. North Carolina is in the same district covered by Virginia, and when the Supreme Court decided this week that it wouldn't hear an appeal of a ruling that struck down Virginia's ban as unconstitutional, that paved the way for yesterday's ruling in Raleigh. "Even before this I was happy, but I think now that it's on paper and it's legal—it's a commitment between two people," says a male sheriff's deputy in Wake County who wed a fellow male deputy.