Gay couples began applying for marriage licenses and marrying on Tuesday in Wyoming, the conservative western mountain state where the 1998 beating death of a gay student helped spark the movement that has culminated in a broad expansion of gay rights around America.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Scott W. Skavdahl, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, struck down the state’s gay marriage ban, finding that it violated the U.S. Constitution, but he stayed his ruling until Thursday, or sooner if the state indicated that it would not file an appeal.

"After reviewing the law and the judge's decision that binding precedent requires recognition of same-sex marriage, I have concluded that further legal process will result in delay but not a different result," Wyoming Attorney General Peter Michael said in a statement.

The state’s motto is “Equal Rights” and it is nicknamed the Equality State because in 1869 it became the first state to grant the vote to women.

More than 30 states, including Arizona and Alaska, now recognize same-sex unions in changes triggered by a U.S. Supreme Court decision Oct. 6 that refused to hear appeals from states that wanted to defend gay marriage bans.

The change remained particularly notable in America's least populous state, where Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, was robbed, tied to a fence and viciously beaten 16 years ago. He died days after the attack on Oct. 12, 1998. The slaying galvanized a nationwide push for gay rights and tough penalties for hate crimes.

In the state's largest city, Cheyenne, two couples were licensed right away, and Jennifer Mumaugh and A.J. McDaniel became the first gay couple to legally marry in the state's most populous county.

After the state formally dropped its defense of a law defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman, Mumaugh said attitudes in Wyoming have shifted in recent years to be more open to gay couples. She said she expected gay marriage to eventually become legal, but didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, has said that while the decision went against his personal beliefs the state would not take up the appeal as such an effort would likely fail.

Wyoming has joined several other politically conservative states in allowing gay marriage after a series of recent court rulings have struck down bans as unconstitutional.

Hundreds of same-sex couples in Idaho and Nevada flooded clerk's offices and courthouses in recent weeks and married immediately afterward to cheering crowds.

Wire services

