Appeals Court Rules Prop 8 Unconstitutional

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that Proposition 8, a California measure that banned same sex marriage, was unconstitutional. The decision means that the U.S. Supreme Court will not have to take on the bill and decide on a federal level. “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. President Obama did not directly comment on the ruling, only citing that the administration does not weigh in on issues that are currently undergoing litigation. It has been unclear on exactly the president’s stance on same-sex marriage, but political analyst speculate he is in support having dropped the federal law defining marriage between one man and one woman just last year