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Federal Judge Timothy Black ordered the state of Ohio to recognized the marriages of same-sex couples performed in other states. His ruling on Monday criticized the state’s “ongoing arbitrary discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.” He says the state’s marriage recognition bans are unconstitutional and unenforceable.

However, Black said might put the ruling on hold pending appeal until attorneys on both sides present arguments. The four gay couples who filed the lawsuit will be exempt from the stay. That would mean the state would immediately have to recognize their marriages and list both spouses as parents on their children’s birth certificates.

If Black declines to stay his ruling, that would allow gay couples in Ohio to obtain the same benefits as any other married couple in the state, including property rights and the right to make some medical decisions for their partner.

The state plans to appeal Black’s ruling, arguing that Ohio has a sovereign right to ban gay marriage, which voters did overwhelmingly in 2004. However, Al Gerhardstein, the Cincinnati civil rights attorney who filed the lawsuit that led to Black’s ruling, said that he has immediate plans to file a another lawsuit to win the right to marry in the state.

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