Prop 8 Ruled Unconstitutional: Protests & Celebration

US District Judge Vaughn Walker Rules Proposition 8 Unconstitutional

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Gay Marriage Protest at California's Capitol | Photo 15

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Chief US District Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Perry et al vs Schwarzenegger, the Federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Prop 8. This means that Prop 8 is struck down as unconstitutional under due-process and equal-protection clauses.

News of the defeat of Prop 8 leaked out over Twitter well before the initial announcement, stemming from posts on NYMag and Autostraddle. CNN began reporting that Judge Walker ruled against Prop 8 at around 1:45pm PDT.

What Does the Prop 8 Ruling Mean? What Next?

Walker's ruling means that Proposition 8 violates the civil rights of Californians by denying the right of one subset of consenting adults the right to marry while granting that right to another group.

This is not the end of the road for Prop 8, however: an appeal seems inevitable. The next stop will be the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

• Judge Vaughn Walker to Rule on Prop 8
  
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None of the state officials wanted to defend Prop 8 in court, though California State Senate Republican Dennis Hollingsworth successfully lobbied to do so.

Until the ruling, which was scheduled to be made public between 1-3pm PDT, proponents and opponents of Prop 8 were preparing for both victory and defeat in the face of a legal Schrodinger's Cat.