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Non-TV News of the Day: Federal Court Strikes Down California’s Ban on Gay Marriage

Feb 7, 2012  •  Post A Comment

A federal appeals court has struck down California’s Proposition 8, which passed in 2008 and put a ban on gay marriage in the state, the Los Angeles Times reports.

However, a stay on same-sex marriages remained in place, meaning the ceremonies may not resume.

The story reports: “The 2-1 decision found that the voters, in approving Proposition 8 in 2008, unfairly took away a right from a minority group. ‘The people may not employ the initiative power to single out a disfavored group for unequal treatment and strip them, without a legitimate justification, of a right as important as the right to marry,’ the panel majority said.”

The decision applies only to California, indicating that the Supreme Court may stay out of the dispute, the story notes. However, opponents of gay marriage were already mapping plans to fight the ruling.

According to the report: “ProtectMarriage.com, which defended Proposition 8 with the help of Christian legal allies from the Alliance Defense Fund, immediately proclaimed their intention to appeal the 9th Circuit decision.

“Attorneys for the two organizations fighting to retain the definition of legal marriage in California as only between a man and a woman said they expected to have to carry the case forward from the 9th Circuit, deeming the ruling Tuesday the result of ‘a Hollywood and San Francisco attack on marriage.’"

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