California Proposition 8 – US Court of Apeals Rules Unconstitutional.

By: Andy Hodges
02/08/2012 10:52 AM ET

California Proposition 8 – The US Court of Appeal’s rules Proposition 8 unconstitutional.

On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals ruled the 2008 California ballot proposition, and constitutional amendment passed that banned same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

“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.

The court’s judgement is contingent on the fact that thousands of lesbians and gays were allowed to marry in California in the months prior to the November 2008 vote.

The seat of judgement found that there is a higher hardship for getting rid of the rights than there has been awarded. However, same-sex marriages are unable to resume in California, since the court briefly continued an order blocking them while the dispute continues.

“Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, as the courts have repeatedly throughout our nation’s history, that singling out a class of citizens for discriminatory treatment is unfair, unlawful and violates basic American values,” said AFER Board President Chad Griffin.

“There will be people on both sides who feel it’s more urgent now to either pass or defeat that amendment,” stated Marie Failinger, a professor at Hamline University School of Law professor.

Source: California Proposition 8

Tags: California, Proposition 8