By Howard Mintz
Posted: 08/04/2010 01:51:23 PM PDT
Updated: 08/04/2010 02:03:12 PM PDT
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 who 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.
“Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians,” the judge wrote. “The evidence shows conclusively that Proposition 8 enacts, without reason, a private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite sex couples.
Prop. 8 defenders have already vowed to ask an appeals court to immediately stay Walker’s order.
- Perry v. Schwarzenegger – C09-2292 VRW (Challenge to Proposition
(U.S. Dist. Ct, Northern Dist.) - PDF of decision (Good as You)
{ Comments on this entry are closed }





















Gallery Carre









