Court rejects California gay marriage ban

Feb 7, 2012, 20:50 GMT

San Francisco - A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected a California ban on gay marriage, ruling that the 2008 voter initiative was unconstitutional since it denied gay couples the same rights to marry as heterosexual couples.

The 2-1 ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to lead to an appeal to the US Supreme Court over the contentious social issue.

'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,' wrote US Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt in the majority ruling. 'The constitution simply does not allow for laws of this sort.'

Judge N Randy Smith dissented, saying there were 'legitimate governmental interests' in restricting the definition of marriage to a union between a man and woman.

The ruling upheld a lower court decision from 2010, which supporters of the ban said should have been overturned because the presiding judge, R Vaughn Walker, was gay and should have recused himself.

The Ninth Circuit put its decision on hold for at least two weeks to give Proposition 8 supporters an opportunity to further appeal.

Andy Pugno, general counsel for Proposition 8, called the ruling a 'misguided decision that disregards the will' of California voters, and he pledged to immediately appeal.

'Our path to the US Supreme Court is now very clear,' Pugno said.

Gay marriage advocates applauded the ruling. Theodore Olson, one of the lead attorneys for the same-sex couples who sued to block the ban, called the decision a blow for 'equality and freedom,' while California Governor Jerry Brown said it was 'a powerful affirmation of the right of same-sex couples to marry.'