Appeal Filed After Prop. 8|Ruled Unconstitutional

(CN) - As expected, the Alliance Defense Fund filed an appeal to the 9th Circuit the day after a federal judge invalidated Proposition 8, California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that Prop. 8 was unconstitutional in response to a lawsuit filed by two gay couples who claimed it violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.

"Each challenge is independently meritorious, as Proposition 8 both unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation," Walker ruled.

"Plaintiffs do not seek recognition of a new right. To characterize plaintiffs' objective as the 'right to seek same-sex marriage' would suggest that plaintiffs seek something different from what opposite-sex couples across the state enjoy - namely, marriage," Walker wrote. "Rather, plaintiffs ask California to recognize their relationships for what they are: marriages."

Prop. 8 outlawed gay marriages in California only five months after the state Supreme Court made them legal.

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit