Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has denied a request from anti-gay wedding activists in California to halt the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses in America's most populous state.

Kennedy turned away the request on Sunday with no additional comment.

Same-sex marriage opponents asked him to step in on Saturday, a day after the federal appeals court in San Francisco allowed same-sex marriages to go forward. Numerous weddings were performed at San Francisco City Hall following the court decisions.

The opponents said the appeals court had acted about three weeks too soon. They could continue their efforts to halt gay marriage by filing their request with another Supreme Court justice.