The Supreme Court may have ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, but that doesn’t mean conservative opponents are ready to concede defeat just yet. Several states have said they will not marry gay couples until they are forced to do so.

“The Supreme Court’s decision is not effective immediately in Mississippi,” Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said in a statement. “It will become effective in Mississippi, and circuit clerks will be required to issue same-sex marriage licenses, when the 5th Circuit lifts the stay of Judge Reeves’ order.”

Louisiana is using the same excuse: Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s office said it "has found nothing in today's decision that makes the Court's order effective immediately,” and will wait for a court mandate. Mike Reed, a spokesman for Governor Bobby Jindal, echoed that position: "Current state law is still in effect until the courts order us otherwise."

Technically, they are correct. There is some leeway for states to delay issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples for a few more days. The Supreme Court decision is effective immediately in the states directly involved in the case, which include Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. But Mississippi has had its own court challenges, which will delay when the state is required to comply with the Supreme Court's ruling. A federal judge overturned Mississippi’s same-sex marriage ban last year, but there was a stay on the decision pending an appeal. Mississippi intends to wait for the appeals court to lift its stay.

“In Mississippi, it might take a day or two for the federal courts to sort things out, but I don’t expect any significant delay,” Margo Schlanger, a legal expert at the University of Michigan, told me.