Topeka ? The U.S. Supreme Court could decide within a matter of days, or hours, whether same-sex couples in Kansas should be allowed to marry.

“It’s hard to read because it’s a holiday,” University of Richmond constitutional law professor Carl Tobias said Tuesday, Veterans Day.

Tobias, who has followed same-sex marriage litigation nationally, said he thinks it’s unlikely the Supreme Court will halt gay marriages in Kansas in light of its decision in October when it allowed such marriages to go forward in Oklahoma and Utah, states that are part of the same 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which includes Kansas.

“It may hold over until (Wednesday),” he said. “The justices, and most public officials, are sensitive to doing anything on Veterans Day. It could be as early as (Wednesday), or later this week.”

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals in the 10th Circuit cases, as well as cases in other circuits, all of which had struck down state bans on gay marriage. Although the court gave no reason for its refusal to hear the cases, legal experts say it was likely because the court prefers to take cases when different circuits have ruled differently on the same issue.

Late last week, however, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld state bans in four other states, setting up the possibility that the high court will take an appeal of that case and render a final verdict on the question of same-sex marriage.

Bill Rich, a constitutional law professor at Washburn University in Topeka, said it’s conceivable, but unlikely, that the Kansas case could be tied up until the Supreme Court rules on the 6th Circuit appeal, which could take several months.

“It’s unlikely because what the (American Civil Liberties Union) will point out is that the Kansas law is not any different from laws un Oklahoma and Utah where court has already rejected appeals and allowed marriages to go forward,” Rich said.

The ACLU represents the plaintiffs in the Kansas case, two lesbian couples from Douglas and Sedgwick counties who argue that the state’s ban on gay marriage violates their 14th amendment rights to equal protection.

The case was filed Oct. 10, just days after the Supreme Court refused to hear appeals of the 10th Circuit decisions.

On Election Day, Nov. 4, U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree granted an injunction, ordering court clerks in those counties to begin processing marriage licenses for same-sex couples. That order was to take effect after 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The 10th Circuit refused to issue a stay of that order, but Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed an emergency request with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles such appeals from states within the 10th Circuit.

On Monday, Sotomayor granted a temporary stay and ordered the ACLU to respond to Schmidt’s motion by Tuesday.

Schmidt had argued that as a matter of state’s rights, the federal courts should refrain from acting on the Kansas case on the basis of “comity” because a similar issue is pending before the Kansas Supreme Court.

That is a case Schmidt brought against a Johnson County judge who ordered the clerk’s office there to begin processing same-sex marriage licenses. The Kansas court did put a hold on the judge’s order, pending a hearing on the matter which was to have taken place last week.

But Kansas Chief Justice Lawton Nuss later delayed that hearing, saying the Kansas Supreme Court would likely wait until the federal courts rule on the ACLU lawsuit.

In their response brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, the ACLU said there is no justification to extend the Kansas ban on same-sex marriage because there is no likelihood that Judge Crabtree’s order from Nov. 4 will be reversed.

Tobias said it’s possible that Justice Sotomayor will consult with the rest of the other justices before deciding whether to lift the stay. All nine justices are scheduled to hold a conference on Friday, but Tobias said it might not take that long.

“They’ve already allowed same-sex marriages to go forward in other parts of 10th Circuit, and think there are five votes on the court for marriage equality,” he said.