04
Aug
Federal Judge Vaughn Walker overturns Calif. Sodomite Marriage Ban.
From AP
SAN FRANCISCO – A federal judge overturned California’s gay-marriage ban Wednesday in a landmark case that could eventually force the U.S. Supreme Court to confront the question of whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to wed. The ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker touched off a celebration outside the courthouse.
The appeal would go first to the 9th Circuit then to the U.S. Supreme Court if the high court justices agree to review it. California voters passed the ban as Proposition 8 in November 2008, five months after the state Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown and Schwarzenegger, refused to support Proposition 8 in court. Currently, same-sex couples can only legally wed in Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C.
Walker is a Republican. He was appointed by Ronald Reagan.