THOMASVILLE — In response to Friday’s Supreme Court decision that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the United States, Thomasville’s probate judge is ready to issue the first new license.

Probate Court of Thomas County Judge Vickie Burnette said, “I haven’t received any inquiries or requests, but I have the new form and I’m thinking if someone walked in the door, I would issue the license.”

“It seems to me to pretty much be a done deal,” she said.

A court in Atlanta had issued marriage licenses to three same-sex couples Friday morning, soon after the decision.

Gay marriage is not legally recognized in Georgia under its 2004 Defense of Marriage Act. In 2004, Georgia passed the Defense of Marriage Act which has also been passed by many other states. The Act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. However, the act was challenged in court in 2006 and was struck down in May of that year. Yet, the courts reinstated the Act in July of 2006.

But after Friday’s Supreme Court ruling, everything will most likely change. According to an AP report, the ruling will not take effect immediately because the court gives the losing side roughly three weeks to ask for reconsideration.

But some state officials and county clerks, like Burnette, might follow the lead of the Fulton County, Georgia, probate court and decide there is little risk in issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Chase Daughtrey, past president of the Council of Probate Court Judges in Georgia, was asked if judges were to use the new license immediately or wait, he replied, “That will be in the discretion of the local probate judge. We have sent our judges the ruling and the new application form…”

However, later on Friday, Attorney General Sam Olens released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges: “Today the Supreme Court of the United States ruled the Constitution requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out of state. It does not permit bans on same-sex marriage. In our system of government, the Supreme Court bears the ultimate responsibility for determining the constitutionality of our laws. Once the Supreme Court has ruled, its Order is the law of the land. As such, Georgia will follow the law and adhere to the ruling of the Court.”

He went on to say in a memorandum to all state agencies and department heads, “Georgia’s local governments are now constitutionally required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, to issue those licenses in the same way and via the same procedures employed for all other applicants, and to recognize same-sex marriages on an equal footing with all other marriages. This mandate requires Georgia to recognize same sex marriage in the same way it recognizes marriage between a man and a woman.”

“State agencies and state employees are required to treat those who are lawfully married in a similar fashion. State agencies and employees should immediately review their current practices related to their agency’s function and benefits and ensure that their practices conform to the current state of the law. In addition, to the extent that prior practices impact on-going services or recognition, agencies should establish a process to review any past agency decisions that must be remediated in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling.”

No mention was made of waiting for any reconsideration.

The Supreme Court decision is a historic culmination of decades of litigation over gay marriage and gay rights generally.

Gay and lesbian couples already could marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The court’s 5-4 ruling means the remaining 14 states, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, most of Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, will have to stop enforcing their bans on same-sex marriage.

Associated Press contributed to this story