Offiicals in North Dakota are urging a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit challenging the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, a move that would buck the recent surge in support for gay marriage.

The officials are trying to block the judge from striking down the ban, which would follow a number of other states that recently overturned constitutional bans on same-sex marriage.

A motion was filed to block the decision by the state attorney general's office in the U.S. District Court in Fargo on Tuesday, The Associated Press reports. Doug Bahr, the solicitor general of North Dakota, argued in the document that states should have the autonomy to define marriage.

"Nothing in the United States Constitution prevents the people of North Dakota from defining marriage as the legal union between a man and a woman," Bahr wrote. "The people of North Dakota, through the deliberative political process, retain the traditional understanding of marriage as the union between a man and a woman."

A constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was approved by 73 percent of voters in the state 10 years ago.

On Wednesday, North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said his office wants to keep the ban intact, despite the growing support for gay marriage across the country.

"It is the constitutional duty of the attorney general to represent the state when it is sued," he said in a statement to The Associated Press.

"Only the Supreme Court can determine whether North Dakota's enactment is constitutional or not," he added.

The complaint against the ban was filed last month by Minneapolis attorney Josh Newville on the behalf of seven couples. The lawsuit seeks an overturning of the ban and asks that the state be forced to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as well as recognize gay marriages from other states. The suit, which is the last one to be filed in a state against a same-sex marriage ban, claims the ban violates the 14th Amendment clauses of equal protection, due process and right to travel.

Newville told The Associated Press that the bans are more of a "political thing" and do not have "any legitimate basis."

A second lawsuit was also filed that challenged the same-sex marriage ban in the state by a couple that was legally married in Minnesota but cannot have their marriage recognized in North Dakota.

However, Bahr argues that the Constitution does not require that North Dakota recognize same-sex marriages that were performed in other states.

"The fact North Dakota's marriage laws are different from the marriage laws of some other states does not establish a viable claim that the challenged provisions violate the right to interstate travel," he wrote.

A dismissal of the lawsuit would go against the tide of gay marriage bans being overturned in states across the U.S.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year, a number of lawsuits have been brought against same-sex marriage bans. Gay rights activists have won 18 cases in federal and state courts, with 19 states legalizing same-sex marriage.

A judge in the conservative state of Kentucky even struck down the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage Tuesday, signaling a true turning of the tide in favor of gay marriage.

While the Kentucky ban was struck down Tuesday, the ruling was put on hold temporarily, and it is not yet clear when same-sex couples will be issued marriage licenses.

U.S. District Judge John Heyburn decided that the ban on same-sex marriage in the state violates the Equal Protection Clause in the U.S. Constitution, as it does not treat same-sex couples and straight couples equally.

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on rulings from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee on Aug. 6. Each is a separate case, but all focus on whether the statewide gay marriage bans violate the Equal Protection Clause in the Constitution.

Last week, a federal appeals court also upheld a ruling that overturned Utah's same-sex marriage ban. While Utah plans to appeal the court's ruling, it seems unlikely that it will be overturned, as support for same-sex marriage continues to grow.