Gay couples in Kansas are still unable to file for marriage licenses despite last week's decision by a federal judge to strike down the state's ban on same-sex unions, The Associated Press reported.

District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree had stayed his Nov. 5 ruling only through Tuesday, but U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday temporarily extended the hold.She honored a request by Derek Schmidt, the Kansas attorney general and defendant in the case before Crabtree, and directed the plaintiff, the American Civil Liberties Union, to file a response by Tuesday afternoon.

The Supreme Court had, in a June 2013 landmark decision, struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which restricted marriage to opposite-sex couples.

As the state bans were being challenged across the country, however, the court on Oct. 6 refused to hear appeals on the issue, effectively cementing the legalization of same-sex marriage in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

But Sotomayor's move may indicate that a standout appellate court ruling may lead the justices to reconsider their refusal to get involved, the Daily Beast's Jay Michaelson analyzed. On Nov. 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit differed from other courts in saying that bans on gay marriage were not necessarily unconstitutional.

"[Now,] there was a circuit court split on the issue and a strong likelihood that the Supreme Court would decide it after all," Michaelson said.

Consequently, Schmidt argued that a day after the district court ruling, a different situation was presenting itself.

"And on Nov. 11, the day that Kansas clerks were supposed to start certifying same-sex marriages, Justice Sonia Sotomayor -- responsible for reviews of this kind coming from the Tenth Circuit -- stayed the order," the Daily Beast reported.

Sotomayor's hold, though temporary, is open-ended, legal experts pointed out, but supporters of gay marriage in Kansas remained optimistic, MSNBC reported.

"She's granted what sounds like a 24-hour stay, [but] it's real hard to say what's going to happen next," Tom Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas, said.

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