In a significant step for gay equality in the United States, a
court of law has ruled that California's Proposition 8 is
unconstitutional.
A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
that a lower court judge correctly interpreted the US Constitution
when he declared in 2010 that Proposition 8 was a violation of the
civil rights of gays and lesbians.
As expected, the San Francisco court made the ruling in the late
hours of yesterday, GMT.
The controversial
constitutional amendment - which was passed in November 2008 - was
implemented after a minor ballot box victory of 52 per
cent.
It came after several thousand couples had already married in the
West-coast state.
Subsequently, gay and lesbian couples formally challenged the
legislation, which has since seen a back-and-forth debate that has
divided the often-liberal California community.
"Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than
to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in
California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and
families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples," states the
opinion, written by Judge Stephen Reinhardt.
Adding to the sense of victory, the 9th Circuit decision also
found no evidence that the judge who issued the lower court ruling,
Judge Vaughn Walker, was biased because he was gay.
As predicted, supporters of Proposition 8 are expected to appeal
the decision and ask the Supreme Court to overturn it.
"We are not surprised that this Hollywood-orchestrated attack on
marriage - tried in San
Francisco - turned out this way," said Brian Raum, senior
counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, told The Associated
Press.
Currently, six states - New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Vermont, New Hampshire and Iowa - allow gay marriage, as does
Washington, D.C.
