ST. LOUIS (AP) — With the legality of gay marriage in Missouri in judicial limbo, more than 3,000 residents are asking the state to drop its appeal of a federal ruling that overturned its ban on same-sex unions.

Several members of the Show-Me Marriage coalition delivered 3,100 petitions Wednesday to Attorney General Chris Koster's St. Louis office. They want Koster to drop the legal challenge to a federal judge's ruling last week that found a 2004 Missouri constitutional amendment barring gay marriage violated the U.S. Constitution.

"We can't leave gay and lesbian couples with so much uncertainty," said A.J. Bockelman, executive director of the statewide advocacy group PROMO. "If the federal decision is not appealed, Missouri will have marriage recognition once and for all."

The federal ruling came two days after a similar decision by a state judge in St. Louis. Koster has said he personally supports gay marriage but is pursuing the appeals at both the state and federal levels to clarify the legal uncertainty. A Koster spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.