California's gay marriage ban ruled unconstitutional

THE US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has struck down Proposition 8's ban on gay marriage in California. The Ninth Circuit's ruling is likely to be appealed to the US Supreme Court, which has never before decided on the constitutionality of laws that prohibit same-sex marriage. California voters passed Proposition 8 in November 2008 with 52.4 percent of the vote. The measure outlawed same-sex marriage in the state by amending California's constitution to only recognise marriages between men and women. The California Supreme Court ruled the amendment was valid, but in August 2010 US District Judge Vaughn Walker nullified Proposition 8 for violating the due process and equal protection rights of gay men and women guaranteed by the US Constitution. Three Ninth Circuit judges unanimously affirmed Walker's ruling overnight. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. Subscribe Gay marriage ban lifted 'Love is love': Aussie stars back gay marriage End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. "Although the Constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be desirable, it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different classes of people differently," the Ninth Circuit wrote in an opinion by Judge Stephen Reinhardt. "There was no such reason that Proposition 8 could have been enacted." The US Supreme Court first ruled that marriage was a fundamental right protected by the due process clause in the 14th Amendment in 1967 when it struck down a Virginia statute that outlawed interracial marriage. The US Supreme Court has never addressed the question of whether the fundamental right to marry in the United States applies to same-sex couples.