San Francisco:
A federal judge overturned California's same-sex marriage ban in a landmark case that could eventually land before the US Supreme Court to decide if gays have a constitutional right to marry in America.
Chief US District Judge Vaughn Walker made his ruling on Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by two gay couples who claimed the voter-approved ban violated their civil rights. Despite the favourable ruling for same-sex couples, gay marriage will not be allowed to resume as the appeals process moves forward.
Supporters argued the ban was necessary to safeguard the traditional understanding of marriage and to encourage responsible childbearing. California voters passed the ban as Proposition 8 in November 2008, five months after the state Supreme Court legalised gay marriage.
"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples," the judge wrote in a 136-page ruling that laid out in precise detail why the ban does not pass constitutional muster.
The judge found that the gay marriage ban violates the Constitution's due process and equal protection clauses. "Because Proposition 8 disadvantages gays and lesbians without any rational justification, Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment," the Judge ruled.
Both sides previously said an appeal was certain if Walker did not rule in their favour. The case would go first to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, then the Supreme Court if the high court justices agree to review it.
Walker heard 13 days of testimony and arguments since January during the first trial in federal court to examine if states can prohibit gays from getting married. The ruling puts Walker at the forefront of the gay marriage debate. The longtime federal judge was appointed by President Ronald Reagan.
The verdict was the second in a federal gay marriage case to come down in recent weeks. A federal judge in Massachusetts decided last month the state's legally married gay couples had been wrongly denied the federal financial benefits of marriage because of a law preventing the US government from recognizing same-sex unions.
Chief US District Judge Vaughn Walker made his ruling on Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by two gay couples who claimed the voter-approved ban violated their civil rights. Despite the favourable ruling for same-sex couples, gay marriage will not be allowed to resume as the appeals process moves forward.
Supporters argued the ban was necessary to safeguard the traditional understanding of marriage and to encourage responsible childbearing. California voters passed the ban as Proposition 8 in November 2008, five months after the state Supreme Court legalised gay marriage.
"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples," the judge wrote in a 136-page ruling that laid out in precise detail why the ban does not pass constitutional muster.
The judge found that the gay marriage ban violates the Constitution's due process and equal protection clauses. "Because Proposition 8 disadvantages gays and lesbians without any rational justification, Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment," the Judge ruled.
Both sides previously said an appeal was certain if Walker did not rule in their favour. The case would go first to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, then the Supreme Court if the high court justices agree to review it.
Walker heard 13 days of testimony and arguments since January during the first trial in federal court to examine if states can prohibit gays from getting married. The ruling puts Walker at the forefront of the gay marriage debate. The longtime federal judge was appointed by President Ronald Reagan.
The verdict was the second in a federal gay marriage case to come down in recent weeks. A federal judge in Massachusetts decided last month the state's legally married gay couples had been wrongly denied the federal financial benefits of marriage because of a law preventing the US government from recognizing same-sex unions.
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