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Plaintiffs, from left, Lisa Chickadonz, Christine Tanner, Ben West and Paul Rummell walk hand-in-hand out of federal court in Eugene where a federal judge heard oral arguments challenging Oregon's ban on same-sex marriage.

(Associated Press)

U.S. District Judge Michael McShane will issue his ruling in Oregon's high-profile gay marriage case at noon Monday, he announced Friday.

He will post a full written decision in the widely watched case, he said.

Four gay and lesbian couples seeking the right to marry filed suit asking the court to overturn Oregon's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum declined to defend the constitutional limit of marriage to one man and one woman and agrees the law should be overturned.

When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, it unleashed a flood of litigation in federal courts around the country. In recent months, federal judges have struck down laws prohibiting same-sex marriage in six states, largely under the reasoning that it violates equal protections for gay and lesbian couples.

-- Betsy Hammond