JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi pastor on Friday dressed a horse in a makeshift wedding gown and staked a spot in front of the federal courthouse in Jackson, Miss., to protest a recent ruling striking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban.

Rev. Edward James of Bertha Chapel M.B. Church in Jackson stood by the horse holding a sign that read, “Do you take this horse to be your unnatural wedded spouse? … This might be possible if the ban on same-sex marriage is lifted.”

James told The Clarion-Ledger he knew his protest was “ridiculous,” but “so is the same-sex marriage status.”

“That’s the point I’m trying to convey to Mississippians today, and I’m hoping that (U.S. District Court) Judge Reeves will reconsider his ruling and that Mississippi will stay a state that will only recognize marriage between a man and a woman,” said James.

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Reeves struck down Mississippi’s ban on same-sex marriage Nov. 25, but same-sex couples cannot legally wed until the federal court of appeals hears the case Jan. 9.