TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) – A Cherokee Nation judge hasn’t reset a court date for a hearing on the legality of the union between two Owasso women who obtained a marriage application from the tribe.

Tribal Judge John Cripps postponed a hearing after Dawn McKinley and Kathy Reynolds asked for more time to respond to a complaint filed June 11 by Tribal Council attorney Todd Hembree.

The couple does not yet have an attorney who is recognized by the Cherokee courts, officials said. A lawyer must be a member of the Cherokee Nation Bar to argue cases in tribal court.

The women asked for a marriage application May 13. A day later, Justice Darrell Dowty of the Judicial Appeals Tribunal issued a 30-day moratorium prohibiting issuing the applications.

After McKinley, 32, and Reynolds were married in a Cherokee ceremony May 18 in Tulsa, they twice tried unsuccessfully to file the marriage application with the Cherokee Nation Tribal Court.

Hembree wants the application issued to the couple ruled invalid. If they are allowed to register the marriage application license, it will cause “irreparable harm” to the tribe, he said.

“It’s my legal opinion, Cherokee Nation law defines marriage between a man and a woman,” Hembree said.

The women said they believe that the tribe is dragging its feet over the approval of its lawyer and over hearing their case.

Reynolds, 27, said the couple’s lawyer filed an application with the court in May but hasn’t yet been approved. The women are enrolled members of the Cherokee Nation.

“It seems like a new heartbreak every time they say something,” Reynolds said of the tribe. “We’ve done everything we’re supposed to do.”

Cherokee officials said a lawyer can be approved to try a case in their court after making a special request, which can happen within hours.

The lawyer also can apply for recognition by the Cherokee Bar, approval of which could take as long as 60 days.

The tribe didn’t say whether the couple’s lawyer had applied.

“Officially, they’ve not responded,” tribe spokesman Mike Miller said. “We have not received an application or special appearance request.”

The Cherokee Nation Tribal Council has unanimously passed a law banning same-sex marriages. Tribal law states any person 18 years of age can marry if he or she does not have a living spouse.

Oklahoma law bans same-sex marriage and doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages from other states. Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said earlier that marriage is a civil contract between a man and a woman.