The U.S. “Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for an immediate expansion of same-sex marriage by unexpectedly and tersely turning away appeals from five states seeking to prohibit gay and lesbian unions,” writes Mark Sherman of the Associated Press, adding, “The court’s order effectively makes gay marriage legal now in 30 states.”

The story reports: “Without comment, the justices brought to an end delays in same-sex marriages in five states — Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. Chief Justice John Roberts did not say a word about same-sex marriage as he began the court’s new term.”

The AP story also notes, “Couples in six other states — Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming — should be able to get married in short order. Those states would be bound by the same appellate rulings that were put on hold pending the Supreme Court’s review.”

To read more details about this story, we urge you to click on the link in our first paragraph, above, which will take you to the original AP story.