Appeals Court Strikes Down Prop. 8 - The Bay Citizen

Appeals Court Strikes Down Prop. 8 - The Bay Citizen:

Appeals Court Strikes Down Prop. 8

Judges rule 2-1 against the ban on same-sex marriages; appeal expected

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By BAY CITIZEN STAFF on February 7, 2012 - 10:07 a.m. PST

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

An opponent of Proposition 8 holds a gay pride flag outside San Francisco City Hall to celebrate U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling to overturn Prop. 8 on Aug. 4, 2010

A federal court ruled Tuesday that California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling issued in August 2010 that Proposition 8 violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees equal protection under the law. In that ruling, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker wrote that the ban "fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license."

On Tuesday, the appellate judges ruled, "By using their initiative power to target a minority group and withdraw a right that it possessed, without legitimate reason for doing so, the People of California violated the Equal

Source: The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/15Adt)