The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Tuesday ruled unconstitutional Proposition 8, the 2008 California ballot measure that banned same sex marriage.
?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,? Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the majority 2-1 opinion for the three-member panel.
Continue ReadingThe majority affirmed a lower court?s ruling, which drew on the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent in declaring that Proposition 8 violated the civil rights of people in same-sex marriages. The court?s ruling hinges on the fact that thousands of gays and lesbians were able to marry in California in the months leading up to the November 2008 vote on the ballot measure. The court found that there is a higher burden for removing rights that have already been awarded.
But same-sex marriages will not be able to resume immediately in California, since the court temporarily continued an order blocking them while litigation continues.
The Alliance Defense Fund, a self-described legal alliance of Christian attorneys focused on conservative social issues, immediately announced plans to appeal the decision.
The three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals released its decision more than three years after Californians voted in favor of Proposition 8 ? banning same-sex marriages that had been legalized by a state Supreme Court ruling.
Reinhardt, appointed by President Jimmy Carter, was affirmed in his decision by Bill Clinton appointee Michael Daly Hopkins. N. Randy Smith, who was appointed by George W. Bush, dissented.
The panel heard oral arguments in the case more than a year ago ? and appeared in questioning to be leaning toward the decision it announced Tuesday ? but held off on a ruling after some conservative groups supporting Proposition 8 asked last spring that a lower court?s decision made by former Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker be struck down because he has since disclosed that he is in a long-term same-sex relationship himself.
All three judges on the circuit court panel said there was no evidence that Walker was biased in his decision or that he should have disclosed his sexuality before hearing the case.
White House press secretary Jay Carney declined Tuesday afternoon to comment on the ruling, but said ?the president has long opposed ? divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same-sex couples.?
President Barack Obama has not backed same-sex marriage, though he has repeatedly said that his views on the issue are ?evolving? and backed state votes like the successful legalization effort that took place last June in New York.
Opponents of the ban argued that Proposition 8 violates constitutional rights to due process and equal protection under the law. Supporters say it is constitutional and in line with what most Americans want.
The Alliance Defense Fund, which has been involved in representing Proposition 8 supporters, quickly attacked the court?s decision. ?No court should presume to redefine marriage. No court should undercut the democratic process by taking the power to preserve marriage out of the hands of the people,? the group?s senior counsel, Brian Raum, said in a statement. ?Americans overwhelmingly reject the idea of changing the definition of marriage.?
Californians voted 52.3 percent in favor of Proposition 8 when it was on the ballot in 2008.
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