DENVER — State officials are preparing to issue same-sex marriage licenses in Colorado after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from several states seeking to ban same-sex marriage.

Republican Attorney General John Suthers said in a statement Monday that his office will file motions to expedite the lifting of federal and state court stays and will advise county clerks when to issue licenses.

“Today marks a historic day on the march toward marital equality,” Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper said in a statement. He added that “while there are a few more steps in the process, we are that much closer to declaring marriage equality for all Coloradans.”

Colorado was among six states bound by appellate rulings that the Supreme Court declined to review, meaning the lower-court rulings stand. The justices did not comment on their decision Monday.

“This is the non-decision that will change the face of America,” said Mari Newman, a lawyer who represented couples who successfully challenged Colorado’s gay marriage ban in federal court. That ruling has been on hold pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s actions.

Kate Burns, 51, one of the plantiffs who challenged Colorado’s 2006 voter-approved gay marriage ban, said she called her partner, who was at the gym, as soon as she heard about the Supreme Court’s decision.

“She just started crying, and crying and crying,” Burns said outside the 10th Circuit of Appeals, where lawyers from the case held a press conference.

Couples have been calling the Denver clerk’s office to get married, but clerk Debra Johnson said she still has to wait for a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court before she can start marrying gay couples.

“Love is love, and everyone should be recognized for the love that they share, and it should be validated,” Johnson said.

Johnson and at least two other county clerks started issuing same-sex marriage licenses after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled in a Utah case that gay marriage bans “demean the dignity of these same-sex couples for no rational reason.”

Suthers, through legal filings, successfully fought to have the clerks ordered to stop issuing those licenses because the 10th Circuit put its ruling on hold pending a Supreme Court appeal.

Stays in the Utah and Oklahoma cases have been lifted, while Suthers and attorneys for gay couples have filed requests to have Colorado’s stay lifted also.

“We have consistently maintained that we will abide by the Supreme Court’s determination on the constitutionality of marriage laws,” Suthers said.

Suthers said once the legal formalities are over, “clerks across the state must begin issuing marriage licenses to all same-sex couples.”

___

Find Ivan Moreno on Twitter: http://twitter.com/IvanJourno

Just after midnight, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, center left, stands after performing a civil union vows ceremony for Fran Simon, right, and her partner Anna Simon, at the Webb Municipal Building in Denver, Wednesday May 1, 2013. Fran and Anna Simon were the first to receive a civil union certificate. In March 2013, the Colorado General Assembly passed SB-11, the Colorado Civil Union Act, which provides committed same-sex couples with legal protections and responsibilities. The act went into effect on May 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Just after midnight, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, left, performs a civil union vows ceremony for Sonja Semion, center left, and her partner Courtney Law at the Webb Municipal Building in Denver, Wednesday May 1, 2013. In March 2013, the Colorado General Assembly passed SB-11, the Colorado Civil Union Act, which provides committed same-sex couples with legal protections and responsibilities. The act went into effect on May 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)