Federal judge strikes down California’s ban on same-sex marriage
By Howard Mintz, Mercury News
A San Francisco federal judge today struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage, concluding that it tramples on the equal rights of gay and lesbian couples and setting the stage for an appeal that appears destined for the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a 136-page ruling, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker sided with two same-sex couples that challenged voter-approved Proposition 8, which embedded a ban on gay marriage in the California constitution and wiped out a prior California Supreme Court ruling that briefly legalized same-sex nuptials across the state. Walker ordered that Proposition 8 should be immediately voided, and same-sex couples be given the chance marry across California.
Prop. 8 defenders have already vowed to ask an appeals court to immediately stay Walker's order.
With demonstrations and vigils at the ready in San Francisco and elsewhere, the judge based his decision on an unprecedented trial held in January, a crucial turn in the first federal court test in the nation of a state law forbidding same-sex marriage. Walker's decision is expected to be appealed swiftly to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and defenders of Prop. 8 moved even before the ruling to seek a stay that would preserve the status quo to prevent gay and lesbian couples from marrying while the legal battle continues to unfold.
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