Same-sex marriages in Arkansas were put on hold on Friday 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."

Aaron Sadler, a spokesman for McDaniel, however, had a different opinion and commended Friday's decision in a statement.

"The court today made the right decision to issue a stay, as other courts across the country have done in similar circumstances," he said.

As of today, 17 states, plus the District of Columbia, have legalized same-sex marriage. Massachusetts became the first state to issue marriage licenses to gay couples ten years ago.