The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request to block gay marriage from proceeding in South Carolina, clearing the way for it to become the 35th U.S. state where gay marriage is legal.

The order was another victory for advocates for gay marriage after a federal judge in Montana on Wednesday struck down that state's ban on gay marriage.

South Carolina's attorney general had asked the high court to temporarily block a lower court's ruling that overturned the state's gay marriage ban.

Two of the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative members, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, would have blocked the lower court's ruling, the order said.

With the court's action, gay marriage was set to become legal at 11 a.m. CST.