The California Supreme Court will hear three cases challenging the validity of a recently approved same-sex marriage ban, but refused on Wednesday to allow gay couples to resume marrying in the meantime.

All three cases claim Proposition 8, approved earlier this month by 52 percent of voters, abridges the civil rights of a vulnerable minority group. They argue that voters alone did not have the authority to enact such a significant constitutional change.

“We've always recognized that civil rights should not be put up to the populace,” said Terry Applegate, a local organizer with the No on 8 campaign.

“Basic civil rights are made so that everyone has equal treatment and so that the constitution is not used to single out a certain group.”

California Attorney General Jerry Brown urged the court to take jurisdiction of the case in filings earlier this week.

The court could hear the oral arguments as early as March.

Traditional marriage supporters hailed the court's decision to deny a stay-of-enforcement of the ban.

“The California Supreme Court is recognizing the people's vote on Proposition 8 and is allowing the measure to go into full effect,” ProtectMarriage.com General Counsel Andy Pugno said in a news release.

“This is a great legal victory for voters.”

ProtectMarriage.com collected more than 1.1 million signatures to amend California's Constitution to recognize only a marriage between a man and woman.

An amendment requires a petition signed by 8 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent General Election to be placed on the ballot and passes with a majority vote.

A revision requires a two-thirds vote from the state Legislature before being placed on the ballot.

Leading Latino, African American and Asian groups have since filed petitions with the court arguing Proposition 8 threatens equal protection rights for all Californians.

Same-sex marriage resonates with many in the Palm Springs area, which has one of the largest gay populations per capita in the United States. About 1,200 same-sex couples have married in the Coachella Valley since the justices' 4-3 ruling in May legalized gay marriage.

Proposition 8's passage has thrown the validity of the estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages conducted statewide into legal limbo.

Most legal scholars, however, believe the marriages will remain valid and Brown has said that the state would honor them.

Backers of traditional marriage have long complained that activist justices overturned the will of the people by finding a 2000 ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. In an ironic legal twist, the court could have the final say again.

“I think part of our success with Proposition 8 came on the heels of the court decision to negate the people's vote with Proposition 22,” said Ron Prentice, executive director of ProtectMarriage.com in the city of Riverside.

“The request that the court consider it a revision is really a long shot.”

Prentice and other traditional marriage supporters argue that challenges in other states have been unsuccessful, citing a 2005 Oregon Supreme Court decision that nullified about 2,000 same-sex marriages following a same-sex marriage ban voters there approved.

The Oregon high court, however, has never ruled on whether gays and lesbians have equal protection rights.

“You can't have a minority stripped of their rights from the majority,” said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California.