U.S. appeals court rules Prop. 8 unconstitutional (story)

[No Elephants]

Source: sfgate

U.S. appeals court rules Prop. 8 unconstitutional

Bob Egelko

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

U.S. appeals court rules Prop. 8 unconstitutional


<snip>

The 2-1 ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was the first ever by a federal appellate court to overturn any of the recent proliferation of state laws defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

"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," said Judge Stephen Reinhardt in the majority opinion.

He said there was no evidence for the claims of Prop. 8 sponsors that banning same-sex marriage would promote children's welfare or responsible procreation, and no legal basis to exclude an entire group of people from marrying merely because of tradition.

<snip>

The same-sex marriage ban remains in effect while the case proceeds toward the Supreme Court, where Prop. 8's supporters predicted victory.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/07/MN1H1N3T1H.DTL

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Much more at link.

The decision seems to have been limited to facts of California (referenda, opposition to gay marriage, etc.)

The neo theos vowed to appeal immediately.

Link to full text of court opinion: http://www.scribd.com/doc/80809524/Ninth-Circuit-Prop-8-decision



Jay Leno, in last night's monologue: "If you want to protect the sanctity of marriage, ban Kardashian weddings."

(I don't watch Leno--he's conservative and I'm still for Coco, but I saw the clip on the news this morning.)