A panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals on Monday threw out a Virginia state ban on same-sex marriage, according to a USA Today report.

The three-judge panel in the Fourth Circuit in Richmond voted 2-1 that gay men and women have a constitutional right to marry that holds more weight than the state law that banned it. It's not clear as to when Virginia could start handing out marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

"We recognize that same-sex marriage makes some people very uncomfortable," Judge Henry Floyd said. "However, inertia and apprehension are not legitimate bases for denying same-sex couples due process and equal protection of the laws."

Monday's decision by the panel can be appealed to the full District Court or to the Supreme Court. Floyd and Judge Roger Gregory voted to support same-sex marriage, while Judge Paul Niemeyer was the dissenting vote.

Two gay couples filed the lawsuit, one seeking a marriage license and another wishing to have a California marriage recognized in Virginia, the Washington Post reported.

"Marriage is one of the most fundamental rights -- if not the most fundamental right -- of all Americans," David Boies, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. "This court has affirmed that our plaintiffs -- and all gay and lesbian Virginians -- no longer have to live as second-class citizens who are harmed and demeaned every day."

This decision will likely put additional pressure on the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the gay marriage issue next year.

Supporters of marriage equality have won more than 20 suits around the U.S. since last year, when the Supreme Court voted down an important piece of the Defense of Marriage Act. Appeals are underway on those rulings.

In the U.S., 19 states and the District of Columbia allow gay marriage, while it remains outlawed in the other 31 states. At least 70 suits have been filed in the states that still outlaw same-sex marriage, seeking legalization.

"The choice of whether and whom to marry is an intensely personal decision that alters the course of an individual's life," the court majority said. "Denying same-sex couples this choice prohibits them from participating fully in our society, which is precisely the type of segregation that the Fourteenth Amendment cannot countenance."