Judge Says Prop. 8 |Lawsuit Can Continue

(CN) - A lawsuit challenging California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage can continue, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker on Wednesday said a trial was needed to determine whether gays and lesbians are entitled to judicial protection from discriminatory laws. He set the trial for Jan. 11.

Gay couples Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, of Northern California, and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, from Southern California, sued the state shortly after Proposition 8 passed in November. They are represented by Ted Olson and David Boies, the attorneys who squared off in the Bush v. Gore election case of 2000.

Supporters of Prop. 8 say the initiative, which defined marriage in California as being between a man and a woman, is constitutional, and that the U.S. Supreme Court has never recognized a person's right to marry someone of the same gender.

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