( CNN ) -- California 's Supreme Court said Wednesday that it will hear the appeal of a challenge to Proposition 8 , a voter-approved measure outlawing same-sex marriage . California 's voter-approved measure banning same-sex marriage has sparked protests throughout the state . In a written statement , the court said it will not block the implementation or enforcement of the law in the meantime . Proposition 8 passed with about 52.5 percent of the vote , making California one of several states to ban same-sex marriage in the November 4 elections . But unlike the other states , California had already been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples since May , after a state Supreme Court ruling legalized the unions . The American Civil Liberties Union , Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed legal challenges to the vote , asking the high court to rule the ballot-initiative process was `` improperly used '' to strip away a right protected by the state constitution . iReport.com : Share your view on same-sex marriage . The court said arguments in the case could be heard as early as March . In its May 15 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in California , the justices seemed to signal that a ballot initiative like Proposition 8 might not be enough to change the underlying constitutional issues of the case in the court 's eyes . The ruling said the right to marry is among a set of basic human rights `` so integral to an individual 's liberty and personal autonomy that they may not be eliminated or abrogated by the legislature or by the electorate through the statutory initiative process . '' In the hours after the proposition 's apparent passage , thousands of protesters took to the streets of Los Angeles and other cities across California in protest . Observances in support of same-sex marriage were held in cities across the country Saturday .
Three groups file challenge to Proposition 8 , which bans same-sex marriage . Score: 6 Court says it will not interfere with enforcement of the law before it hears appeal . State Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in May 15 ruling .