- Federal appeals court to release findings on whether ban on same-sex marriage violates rights of gay and lesbian couples
California's Anti-Gay Marriage Prop 8 Ruled Unconstitutional
Appeal to Supreme Court Likely
Published on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 by Common Dreams
A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on gay marriage as early as next year.
Prop 8: Overturned, February 7, 2012 The
2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found
that Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that limited marriage to one
man and one woman, violated the U.S. Constitution.
Opponents of same-sex marriage have promised to appeal to the US Supreme Court. The Guardian reports:
Voters in California passed Proposition 8 in 2008, but it was ruled unconstitutional by federal judge Vaughn Walker in 2010. But the ban has remained in place since then, because the ninth circuit court put a stay on the Walker ruling pending appeals.
However, even if the panel upholds the ruling by Walker, a former chief US district judge, and overturns the ban, same-sex marriages are unlikely to go ahead any time soon.
Backers of Proposition 8 have said they plan to appeal to a larger 9th circuit panel and then to the US Supreme Court if they lose.
As a result, same sex couples in California, who enjoyed a brief, four-month legal right to marry in 2008, are likely to have to wait longer to find out if it will be restored.
Sean









