On Tuesday a three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court judge, Vaughn Walker, correctly interpreted the US Constitution when he declared in 2010 that Proposition 8 was a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

In a 2-1 decision, the court ruled that voters couldn't deprive gay couples of the right to marry. In 2008, voters in California passed the ban known as Proposition 8 to outlaw same-sex marriage.

"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," states the opinion, written by Judge Stephen Reinhardt.

The two Democrat-appointed judges Reinhardt and Michael Daly Hawkins ruled against the ban, while a Republican-appointed judge, N. Randy Smith, dissented, reported Reuters.

A federal judge in San Francisco struck down Proposition 8 in 2010, and gay marriage opponents appealed that ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Six states – New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Iowa – currently allow same-sex marriage, as does Washington, D.C, while New Jersey and Washington state are considering enacting similar legislation.