MADISON, Wis. — When a federal judge struck down Wisconsin’s gay marriage ban, pastor Andrew Warner was among those who headed to the courthouse to get a license so he could legally wed his longtime partner.

Then he turned to perform a wedding for two members of his Milwaukee church.

“I always felt like we were second-class citizens in not being able to get married,” Warner said after marrying Jay Edmundson on Friday evening, despite confusion over the effect of a federal judge’s ruling that declared Wisconsin’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional. “And now I feel good about my state in a way I haven’t before.”

Clerks in Madison and Milwaukee began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, a little over an hour after the judge released her ruling. More marriage licenses could be issued over the weekend, even though Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said the ruling did not clear the way for weddings to begin. Van Hollen has sought an emergency order in federal court to stop more marriage licenses from being issued.