BOSTON (AP) — A gay and lesbian civil rights group is advising municipalities to hold off on issuing same-sex marriage licenses until authorized by the Legislature.

The nine-member city council in Cambridge plans to take up several resolutions that focus on same-sex marriage. One resolution urges the city to issue same-sex marriages licenses “as soon as possible.”

Gary Buseck, executive director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, said he wants Cambridge councilors to follow the Supreme Judicial Court’s timeline for giving sex couples the right to marry. The ruling gives lawmakers 180 days to pass laws that conform with the decision.

“From a legal standpoint, it’s a pretty straightforward question. We appreciate the well-wishers of Cambridge and the desire to speed up the issuance of licenses. I just think they cannot,” Buseck said.

Buseck said Cambridge was the only Massachusetts city he knew of that was considering an immediate policy change in response to the court’s same-sex marriage ruling.

Four Cambridge councilors have endorsed the resolution that would instruct the city clerk to begin issuing licenses. One more vote is needed for approval.

Councilor Brian Murphy, one of the resolution’s endorsers, predicted that the council would pass the measure. But he said he has been convinced that it would be unwise to issue licenses before the court’s deadline, or before the legislature authorizes such licenses.

“Our goal remains the same, to as quickly as we can get same-sex civil marriage licenses issued in Cambridge,” he said.

Another sponsor of the resolution, Denise Simmons, signed onto a joint statement with Murphy saying the city should wait.

Attorney General Thomas Reilly has said marriage licenses issued before the Legislature acts would be “null and void.”

“I would hope that any city or any licensing authority would respect the decision of the court,” Reilly told the Boston Globe. “The Legislature has some time here to deal with that and would give that the time to play itself out.”

Gov. Mitt Romney’s office has sent a similar message to the state’s 351 town and city clerks.