Appeals Court Upholds Vaughn Walker Ruling Invalidating Prop 8

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling invalidating Proposition 8, California's same-sex marriage ban. Read the ruling and key passages Reaction on Twitter Legal analysis Photos A federal appeals court has declared California's same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional, paving the way for a likely U.S. Supreme Court showdown on the voter-approved law.A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 2-1 Tuesday that a lower court judge interpreted the U.S. Constitution correctly in 2010 when he declared the ban, known as Proposition 8, to be a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians. At an anti-Prop 8 rally before the hearing. (Scott Shafer/KQED) The measure, which passed with 52 percent of the vote in 2008, outlawed same-sex unions just five months after they became legal in the state. Lawyers for Proposition 8 sponsors and for two couples who sued to overturn the ban have said they would appeal to the Supreme Court if they did not receive a favorable ruling from the 9th Circuit. A stay on same-sex marriage remains in effect. Here's one of the ruling's key passages: "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."