BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Gay and lesbian couples in Idaho could start getting married as soon as Friday after a judge ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. 
 
 FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2013 file photo, Amber Beierle, left, and Rachael Robertson pose for a photograph at their home in Boise, Idaho. They are one of four same-sex couples who are suing the state in... (Associated Press) 
 
 U.S. District Magistrate Judge Candy Dale wrote in her decision Tuesday evening that Idaho's laws barring same-sex marriage unconstitutionally deny gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry. Ten other federal district courts have issued similar rulings supporting gay marriage rights. 
 
 Dale said the state must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples starting at 9 a.m. Friday. 
 
 "The Plaintiffs are entitled to extraordinary remedies because of their extraordinary injuries," Dale wrote, saying same-sex couples in Idaho have been denied the economic, emotional and spiritual benefits of marriage. 
 
 "Plaintiffs suffer these injuries not because they are unqualified to marry, start a family, or grow old together, but because of who they are and whom they love," she wrote. 
 
 Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter already has said he intends to appeal the case, meaning an appellate court could still put the weddings on hold. The three-day delay in allowing weddings is apparently in response to a request from the governor. 
 
 Otter cited the state's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. 
 
 "In 2006, the people of Idaho exercised their fundamental right, reaffirming that marriage is the union of a man and a woman," he said in a statement. "Today's decision, while disappointing, is a small setback in a long-term battle that will end at the U.S. Supreme Court." 
 
 Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said he would consult with the governor on the state's appeal. 
 
 Four Idaho couples in November filed the lawsuit against the governor and Ada County Clerk Chris Rich challenging the marriage ban. They are Sue Latta and Traci Ehlers; Lori and Sharene Watsen; Shelia Robertson and Andrea Altmayer; and Amber Beierle and Rachael Robertson. 
 
 Latta and Ehlers married in 2008 in California, and the Watsens married in 2011 in New York. Both couples have children and say Idaho wrongly treats Ehlers as a legal stranger to her grandchildren and requires Lori Watsen to obtain a new power of attorney every six months so she can have legal authority to consent to medical treatment for her son. 
 
 "We won," Latta said, holding the hand of her wife, Traci Ehlers. 
 
 The couple spoke on the steps of the federal courthouse Tuesday evening, surrounded by their friends and family as well as their attorneys and the three other plaintiff couples. 
 
 "I think we're going to go celebrate," Ehlers said. 
 
 Beierle and Rachael Robertson of Boise said they would be back at the courthouse Friday morning to get a marriage license. 
 
 "The first person I called when I got the news was my mom, and she said, 'I'm so proud of you Amby,'" Beierle said, holding back tears. "I don't think people understand what that means to native Idahoans who love this state and want to stay in this state but who want to be heard. It feels amazing." 
 
 The four couples' attorney, Deborah Ferguson, said the ruling recognized that the families are part of Idaho's community and that they deserved the same protections and respect as other families. 
 
 "The court's ruling is a victory not only for the courageous couples who brought this case, but for everyone who cares about freedom and fairness," Ferguson said in a statement. 
 
 Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a law forbidding the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. Since then, lower-court judges have repeatedly cited the decision when striking down same-sex marriage bans that were enacted after Massachusetts started recognizing gay marriages in 2004. 
 
 In addition to Idaho, federal or state judges in Oklahoma, Virginia, Michigan, Texas, Utah and Arkansas have recently found those state bans to be unconstitutional. Judges have also ordered Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. ||||| Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Gay couples in many Arkansas cities rushed to get married on Monday as the attorney general asked the state’s highest court to suspend a ruling striking down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. 
 
 More than 100 people were waiting on the Pulaski County courthouse steps on Monday when the county clerk, Larry Crane, opened the doors at 7:15 a.m. — 45 minutes early — and, beaming, told the crowd, “We welcome you.” 
 
 People waiting in line drank coffee and ate pastries donated by the local office of the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay-rights organization, and more than a half-dozen members of the local clergy stood by to perform marriage ceremonies. At least four other locally elected circuit judges also offered to perform free services. 
 
 “We’re overjoyed to be recognized by the State of Arkansas,” Rick Ward, 47, the pastor of a Reformed Catholic church in nearby Hot Springs, said after marrying his partner of 17 years, Scott Harder, 45. “The freight train of equality is roaring across the country, and people need to wake up and be aware of it.” 
 
 Arkansas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in 2004, but only two protesters appeared at the ceremonies on Monday, and they were mostly ignored by the crowd. 
 
 The rush to wed came after Judge Chris Piazza of the Pulaski County Circuit Court ruled on Friday that the 2004 constitutional amendment and a 1997 law banning same-sex marriage were unconstitutional. 
 
 It was unclear, however, how long the marriage licenses would continue to be available. The state attorney general, Dustin McDaniel, who has said he supports same-sex marriage but would defend the ban, filed paperwork asking the State Supreme Court to temporarily set aside Judge Piazza’s ruling until it could be appealed. 
 
 Last year, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a law forbidding the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. Since then, federal judges have ruled against bans on same-sex marriage in a number of states. 
 
 Jack Wagoner, a Little Rock, Ark., lawyer for the plaintiffs in the Arkansas case, said on Monday that the State Supreme Court had asked him to respond to the state’s request on Tuesday. 
 
 County clerks across the state reacted with some confusion to the lifting of the ban, which technically affected only the six counties that were named in the suit. Mr. Wagoner said that three of the six counties had not issued same-sex marriage licenses, whether consciously or because there were no applicants. A fourth, Carroll County, stopped issuing them Monday morning. 
 
 Carroll County’s prosecuting attorney, Tony Rogers, said officials had concluded that Judge Piazza’s ruling failed to include a state law that specifically prohibited county clerks from issuing same-sex licenses.
– Same-sex couples in Idaho could get married as soon as Friday morning after a federal judge struck down the state's gay marriage ban, saying it is unconstitutional and wrongly relegates same-sex couples to second-class citizen status. The judge said the state must start issuing same-sex marriage licenses beginning at 9am Friday, but Gov. Butch Otter—describing the ruling as "a small setback in a long-term battle"—plans to appeal the case and has filed a motion seeking an immediate stay, the Idaho Statesman reports. Idaho's marriage laws "deny same-sex couples the economic, practical, emotional, and spiritual benefits of marriage, relegating each couple to a stigmatized, second-class status," the judge wrote, and "plaintiffs suffer these injuries not because they are unqualified to marry, start a family, or grow old together, but because of who they are and whom they love." A lawyer for four couples who challenged the ban described the ruling as a "victory not only for the courageous couples who brought this case, but for everyone who cares about freedom and fairness," the AP reports. In Arkansas, meanwhile, where a judge struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban last week, gay couples are rushing to get married before the state's Supreme Court can reinstate the ban, reports the New York Times.