Northern California District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker on Wednesday overturned California’s state marriage amendment that banned same-sex marriage. The amendment was enacted in November 2008 through Proposition 8 with 52 percent of the vote – five months after the California Supreme Court legalised same-sex unions and an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples already had tied the knot.
Despite Wednesday's ruling, it remains uncertain when gay weddings will be allowed to resume in the state. The decision is thought to be just the latest chapter in what is expected to be a long battle over the ban.
Opponents of same-sex marriage such as Protect Marriage, a coalition of religious and conservative groups that sponsored the ban, said it would appeal Walker's ruling.
In a written 136-page opinion, Judge Walker ruled in favour of rights activists who argued that the 2008 referendum, which barred gays and lesbians from tying the knot, is discriminatory and therefore violated the US Constitution.
He concluded: "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. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional."
On the overturning of Proposition 8:
"Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates their due process and equal protection rights and that they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8. California is able to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it has already issued 18,000 marriage licenses to same sex couples and has not suffered any demonstrated harm as a result...
"Because Proposition 8 is unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, the court orders entry of judgment permanently enjoining its enforcement; prohibiting the official defendants from applying or enforcing Proposition 8 and directing the official defendants that all persons under their control or supervision shall not apply or enforce Proposition 8.”
Read Judge Walker's judgement in full here.
Chad Griffin of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, one of the plaintiffs in this case, who helped bring together Ted Olson and David Boise as attorneys representing these plaintiffs who challenged Proposition 8:
(An excerpt)
This decision strengthens marriage by expanding it to include couples that seek it and who would benefit from it. This decision reaffirms the power of marriage to strengthen responsibility and community and to ensure that all Americans in their golden and vulnerable years will be able to live their lives with more security, more dignity and more love.
But there is another powerful consequence of this decision that I hope all Americans take into account. Today, there are millions of gay people across the country -- they are your neighbors, your friends and your family. They see how marriage strengthens the bonds of family and community and they wonder, can they ever have that same strength and stability or will their government continue to say that marriage is not for them?
Today's decision gives gay Americans the hope and strength and comfort that they, too, can have a future filled with love, commitment and shared responsibility.
And so today, we begin the process of saying to the millions of people who are made to feel ostracized, besieged, bullied and ashamed of how God made them, be who you are. Love who you love. And marry who you wish to marry.
As gay and straight citizens take to the streets in celebration here in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas and New York, I know there are millions who must celebrate quietly across America. Places where merely taking the hand of a loved one still feels like a revolutionary act. To those quiet millions, to the teenager in Bakersfield who aches for acceptance, to the college student in Salt Lake who only seeks liberty and equality, and to the couple in Topeka who longs to openly share their commitment and love, this victory is for you. Because in ending the public sanctioning of discrimination in our laws, we render unacceptable the private discrimination you must bear.
This is not the only victory needed to close that gap between the lives you lead and the lives you deserve. But it is a critical victory, one that honors the principles that define America; the principles that stirred a convention in Seneca Falls; the principles that fired -- that fueled tireless marches through Selma, Birmingham and Washington, D.C.; the principles that sparked the fires of resistance at the Stonewall Inn; and the principles that inspire us in this urgent struggle to uphold the right to life, liberty, love and the pursuit of happiness.