Litigation

Judge Overturns CA Gay Marriage Ban

By Peter Hardin

In a historic ruling, federal district Judge Vaughn R. Walker has struck down California’s ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriages.

The decision is likely to be appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In advance of the ruling, supporters of the same-sex marriage ban, called Proposition 8, had asked the judge to stay his ruling, in order to give them time to appeal.

Gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, ruled Judge Walker, according to a Los Angeles Times blog post. He said  Proposition 8 violates their federal constitutional rights.

“Plaintiffs challenge Proposition 8 under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Judge Walker wrote. “Each challenge is independently meritorious, as Proposition 8 both unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Judge Walker concluded hearing oral arguments in June in the case; it was the first trial in a federal courtroom to take up the question of whether states can prohibit gays from marrying (see Gavel Grab).

Full post as published by The Gavel on August 04, 2010 (boomark / email).