A federal appeals court in Cincinnati will hear six same-sex marriage cases Wednesday in the latest development in the fight to legalize gay marriage. 

The six cases being heard are from four different states, according to Reuters. In all six cases, lower court judges sided with marriage equality by striking down constitutional state bans on gay marriage, or by requiring state governments to recognize gay marriages from other states in which gay marriage is legal. 

The question at hand is whether or not the right to marry must be extended to all people. While the Supreme Court ruled last year that all couples should have the right to marry, it did not tackle the issue of whether states must afford citizens the same rights. 

Federal appeals courts are crucial in deciding whether or not the issues will go to the Supreme Court, so they court's decision will have a major bearing on the future of the six cases. 

"The courts that have ruled so far have created a judicial consensus that is striking and almost unprecedented on a civil rights issue," James Esseks, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, told Reuters. 

Opponents of same-sex marriage point out that the Supreme Court will have the final say on the issue. 

Austin Nimocks, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative group that objects to gay marriage, told Reuters that "regardless of what a particular court rules, this will eventually end up at the Supreme Court."

The court, which is Cincinnati's 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, will decide on whether or not to uphold bans on gay marriage in Kentucky and Michigan. Both of the bans were approved by referendum votes in 2004. 

The court will also decide on whether Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio will have to recognize same-sex marriages that were performed in states where gay marriage is legal. 

Regardless of Wednesday's outcomes, legal experts believe that at least one, if not more, same-sex marriage cases will be heard by the Supreme Court in the next term, which begins in October. 

The court in Cincinnati is the third federal appeals court to hear gay marriage cases since last June. The seminal U.S. v. Windsor ruling came down last June from the Supreme Court, which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and extended federal benefits for gay couples. 

The decision prompted a surge in lawsuits against same-sex marriage bans, and more than 20 federal and state courts ruled against such bans. 

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also struck down bans in Oklahoma and Utah, and Virginia's 4th Circuit invalidated Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage in July.

Both Utah and Virginia will ask the Supreme Court to decide if gay couples have a constitutional right to marriage.  

Wednesday's cases will be heard by Deborah Cook and Jeffrey Sutton, two judges appointed by President George W. Bush, and Martha Craig Daughtrey, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton. 

Sutton, a conservative, is projected to be the deciding vote in the case. 

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia currently allow same-sex marriage. 

The federal appeals court will also hear cases from six states in August and September. 

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will hear cases from Wisconsin and Indiana on Aug. 26, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear cases from Idaho, Hawaii and Nevada Sept. 8. 

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will also hear an appeal from Texas, but the date is not yet determined.