My Blog

U.S. Federal Court judge has overturned Proposition 8, California’s same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional in a sweeping victory for gay and lesbian civil rights.

August 4, 2010 /LGBT News/The opinion, issued Wednesday afternoon by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker, scuttles the state’s Proposition 8, a state Constitutional amendment barring such unions. The Prop 8 was approved by California voters in 2008, just months after state legislators legalized same-sex marriage – prompting more than 18,000 couples to converge on city halls across the state to marry.

In his ruling, Vaughn wrote that the Proposition 8 “unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates and irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Outside the U.S. District Court, dozens of people – most supporters of same-sex marriage – gathered long before ruling was announced. They carried American flags, played Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up” and exchanged hugs.