A U.S. appeals court Wednesday struck down a state ban on same-sex marriage citing the Constitution's protection of same-sex couples, giving gay-marriage advocates another strategic victory toward a ruling in the Supreme Court.

In Utah, the panel of judges ruled 2-1 against the gay marriage ban and argued that all couples, regardless of sexual orientation, have the constitutional right to wed, CNN reported.

"We hold that the 14th Amendment protects the fundamental right to marry, establish a family, raise children and enjoy the full protection of a state's marital laws," the judge said in the majority opinion.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals added that they don't want to identify individuals who oppose same-sex marriage as intolerant but insisted the practice of banning the marriage is unreasonable, The Associated Press reported.

"It is wholly illogical to believe that state recognition of love and commitment of same-sex couples will alter the most intimate and personal decisions of opposite-sex couples," the judges wrote.

The decision in Utah adds another tally in the win column for gay rights advocates as lower courts in the U.S. continue to rule against same-sex marriage bans. Since the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of the Marriage Act last year, 16 federal judges have ruled in favor allowing gay marriages, according to The AP.

On the same day, a federal judge in Indiana also struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, which is likely to be taken to an appeals court, according to CNN.

Utah and Indiana could potentially join the 19 states as well as the District of Colombia that have already legalized same-sex marriage. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to make it legal.

According to a Williams Institute survey, the Salt Lake City metropolitan area was home to the highest rate of same-sex couples raising children in the nation at 27 percent. Memphis, Virginia Beach, Detroit and San Antonio were close behind, while Mississippi was the state with the highest rate of gay parents at 26 percent.

When Utah's Prop 3 -- a resolution to ban gay marriage -- was passed in 2004, it had 66 percent voter support, but since then, voter support for a gay marriage ban in the state has dropped to about 50 percent, CNN reported.