A federal appeals court in Cincinnati has upheld anti-gay marriage laws in four states, breaking ranks with other courts that have considered the issue and setting up the prospect of Supreme Court review.

After months of waiting, federal judge Jeffrey Sutton dealt supporters of same sex marriage a major setback today, writing the 2-1 decision that will uphold Ohio's ban.

It is a victory for Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine who said he was simply upholding the election results on the issue from 2004.

"The Ohio Attorney General's Office is pleased the Court agreed with our arguments that important issues such as these should be determined through the democratic process," said DeWine's spokesman.

In his decision Sutton wrote: "By creating a status (marriage) and by subsidizing it (e.g., with tax-filing privileges and deductions), the states created an incentive for two people who procreate together to stay together for purposes of rearing offspring. That does not convict the states of irrationality, only of awareness of the biological reality that couples of the same sex do not have children in the same way as couples of opposite sexes and that couples of the same sex do not run the risk of unintended offspring. That explanation, still relevant today, suffices to allow the states to retain authority over an issue they have regulated from the beginning."

The decision sparked quick reaction by supporters of same sex marriage who we’re not surprised.

"The fact that this decision breaks the precedent of rulings around the country increases the odds that it will be heard in the Supreme Court," said Ian James of FreedomOhio. "We hope that it is, and that the Court will rule in the interests of equality, fairness and justice by overturning this discriminatory ban."

The ruling by the 6th Circuit covered six cases in four states: Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.

Opponents of same sex marriage were pleased with the decision.