On Monday, Oregon became the 18th state to permit same-sex marriage after a federal judge ruled that the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Michael McShane struck down the ban on gay marriage, stating that it discriminates against same-sex couples, reports NBC News. He also prohibited the state from enforcing the ban.

Anticipating the decision, Oregon officials were prepared to carry out same-sex marriages almost immediately, as couples lined up outside the clerk's office in Portland.

One couple, Laurie Brown and Julie Engbloom, arrived early on Monday at the Multnomah County Building to apply for a marriage license after dating for 10 years.

"We always knew we wanted to spend our whole life together," Brown said, according to ABC News. "This opportunity has come, it feels right, everything has fallen into place."

McShane joined judges in seven other states who have recently struck down gay marriage bans.

On Friday, May 17, same-sex marriages in Arkansas were put on hold after the state Supreme Court suspended the ruling of a lower court that struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban.

Arkansas' highest court granted a request to suspend Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza's decision nullifying a 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Last week, the county judge struck down the ban. Then, on Thursday, he expanded his ruling further to ban all state laws preventing gay couples from marrying. As a result, over 450 same-sex couples received a marriage license in the state, The Huffington Post reported. 

Although the high court initially suspended Judge Piazza's May 9 decision, his ruling on Thursday prompted the top court to grant a request by Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and four counties to temporarily halt Piazza's ruling while it's being challenged in the courts. As a result, the state can no longer distribute licenses to gay couples.

In response to the Supreme Court's ruling, attorneys advocating on behalf of gay couples issued a legal filing Friday stating, "The very purpose of marriage, in large part, is to provide security in the face of the certainty of death, the strong likelihood of eventual incapacity, and the always-present possibility of debilitating accidents or illnesses," according the LA Times. "Same-sex couples who wish to marry are subjected to irreparable harm every day that they are denied their right and forced to live without the protection and security that marriage provides."