DETROIT, MI -- The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned a March ruling from a federal judge who found Michigan's gay marriage ban unconstitutional.

The ruling keeps the ban in place.

The case, brought by April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, a Hazel Park couple who sued the state because they can't jointly adopt their children, is now likely to move to the Supreme Court.

Two of three judges on the appeals court panel found that it should be lawmakers, not judges, who decide the issue.

"Do the benefits of standing by the traditional definition of marriage make up for these costs (of denying spousal rights to gay couples)? The question demands an answer--but from elected legislators, not life-tenured judges," the majority wrote.

View the full ruling here.

U.S. 6th Circuit Judges Jeffrey Sutton and Deborah L. Cook made the ruling despite an apparent view that gay marriage will eventually become legal across the U.S.

"From the vantage point of 2014, it would now seem, the question is not whether American law will allow gay couples to marry; it is when and how that will happen," they wrote.

(Related: Appeals court says gay marriage legalization appears inevitable, but upholds Michigan ban)

Michigan voters approved a ban against gay marriage in 2004.

Gay marriage appeal in Cincinnati 25 Gallery: Gay marriage appeal in Cincinnati

The U.S. Supreme Court last month declined to review five gay marriage cases from other states.

But in each of those cases, appeals courts had ruled in favor of gay marriage rights.

The 6th Circuit decision, which also involved cases out of Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky, could give the Supreme Court another chance to address the issue, once presented a request to review a ruling that conflicts with other appeals courts, going against same-sex marriage rights.

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled, and Michigan's constitution remains in full effect," said Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette in a statement. "As I have stated repeatedly, the U.S. Supreme Court will have the final word on this issue. The sooner they rule, the better, for Michigan and the country."

Gay rights groups across Michigan had planned widespread celebrations in anticipation of a ruling that would allow same-sex couples to head to alter.

"We are disappointed in the Court's ruling," said Gina Calcagno, coalition manager for the umbrella group Michigan for Marriage. "We expected, like many people, that the Court would uphold the value of individual freedoms rather than limit them by denying the fundamental right to marry... Although this decision represents a small stumbling block, we will continue to fight for marriage equality for all Michiganders."

(Update: Lawyers for the plaintiffs said Thursday evening said they'll take the case to the Supreme Court..)

More:

-Dissenting judge in gay marriage ruling: 'But what about the children?'

-Barb Byrum, 1st county clerk to marry a Michigan gay couple, 'speechless' at court decision



More coverage and reaction to the ruling from across the state here.

6th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Michigan's gay marriage ban