Community Corner

Ban On Gay Marriage Unconstitutional, Court Finds

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced today that California's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional and violates the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

In late 2008, Southwest Riverside County residents turned out en mass on street corners, holding signs and shouting support for a ban on same-sex marriage.

When they and other Californians went to the polls that November to decide whether Proposition 8 should become law, the voters said yes.

Proposition 8 passed with 52 percent of the vote, five months after the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage by striking down laws that limited marriage to a man and a woman.

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Since that time Proposition 8 has been in legal limbo.

Today, however, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced that California's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional and violates the civil rights of gays and lesbians. The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that a lower court judge correctly interpreted the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court precedents when he declared in 2010 that Proposition 8 was a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The panel also held that the trial judge who struck down the voter-approved measure did not need to declare he was in a long-term relationship with another man. In today’s opinion, the panel said there was no evidence that former Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker was biased in his ruling. Walker presided over the first trial in federal court to examine if same-sex couples have a constitutional right to get married.

Even with today’s announcement, same-sex marriages will not resume in California until the deadline passes for Proposition 8 sponsors to appeal to a larger panel of the 9th Circuit. Supporters and opponents of Proposition 8 have said they would appeal.

The court heard arguments on the issue more than a year ago, but delayed a decision while it sought guidance from the California Supreme Court on whether Proposition 8 sponsors had legal authority to challenge Walker's ruling after the governor and state attorney general decided not to appeal it. read more about that story.

that proponents of ballot measures have the right to defend their initiatives in court if state officials refuse to do so.


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