www.cnn.com/2012/02/07/justice/californi...

California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Tuesday.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to be appealed, to either the full court or to the U.S. Supreme Court. But supporters of same-sex marriages cheered the decision when it was announced outside the courthouse Tuesday morning.

The 2-1 decision found the ban -- known as Proposition 8 -- "served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationship and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples." That violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law, the decision states.

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Good for the Appeals Court.  I wonder what the Supreme Court will say.

The decision of the three judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals can be found Here

I support the decision because it defends the civil rights and civil liberties of the LGBT community. Hopefully, SCOTUS will affirm this decision and end the discrimination against same-sex couples once and for all.

I fear that you may be correct, Ebon. I have little confidence in the even-handed rationality of this court. They are much too reactionary for my taste.

Feb 7, 2012 -- 4:35PM, jane2 wrote:

Feb 7, 2012 -- 2:52PM, Ebon wrote:

I actually think the SCOTUS will go in favour of Prop 8. I no longer trust the SCOTUS to uphold anything beyond their own prejudices.

Agree with you and farragut--this is one reactionary SCOTUS.

Hope the extraordinary cold in England and Europe has not affected you.

I have some hope that SCOTUS will affirm the 9^th Circuit because Justice Kennedy wrote the majority decision that overturned the sodomy laws in Texas and 13 other states in Lawrence v. Texas which means he may be pro LGBT rights. That would make it 5-4 with Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, & Kagan to affirm and Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, & Alito to reverse. Link

Feb 7, 2012 -- 8:15PM, Ebon wrote:

Feb 7, 2012 -- 4:35PM, jane2 wrote:

Hope the extraordinary cold in England and Europe has not affected you.

It's freezing here. We're huddled around the gas fire in my office.

I've been concerned, Ebon. Hope that gas fire warms you.

J.