Look out, California — same-sex marriage may be returning to a city near you!
In a controversial decision yesterday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the first in the nation to conclude that a state has no social or legal justification to deny gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. It therefore declared California’s voter-approved Proposition 8 as unconstitutional.
Gay rights proponents celebrated Tuesday’s ruling, reiterating that voters cannot legalize discrimination. “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,” wrote Judge Stephen Reinhardt, one of the nation’s most liberal, who was joined by Judge Michael Daly Hawkins.
In dissent, Judge N. Randy Smith, a conservative appointee of former President George W. Bush, argued California has a constitutional basis to restrict the definition of marriage to a union between a man and woman. He wrote there were “legitimate governmental interests” in banning gay marriage, such as arguments it promotes procreation and is better suited to raising children.
The court’s 2-1 ruling revealed a deep divide over a state’s ability to forbid same-sex marriage, and was likely a preview of the possible Supreme Court debate to come. Same-sex weddings in California are not expected to resume while Proposition 8 backers prepare to appeal yesterday’s ruling.
Isn't the Pro 8 case identical to the <span>Loving v. Virginia</span> case?Re: Loving v. VirginiaNPR (2007): "Loving Decision: 40 Years of Legal Interracial Unions"[…] On June 12, 1967, the nation's highest court voted unanimously to overturn the conviction of Richard and Mildred Loving, a young interracial couple from rural Caroline County, Va.That decision struck down the anti-miscegenation laws — written to prevent the mixing of the races — that were on the books at the time in more than a dozen states, including Virginia.'They Just Were in Love'Richard Loving was white; his wife, Mildred, was black. In 1958, they went to Washington D.C. – where interracial marriage was legal – to get married. But when they returned home, they were arrested, jailed and banished from the state for 25 years for violating the state's Racial Integrity Act. To avoid jail, the Lovings agreed to leave Virginia and relocate to Washington.For five years,… Read more »