Prop 8 Ruling: Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional (Live Video)

California Court Rules on Prop 8: Gay Marriage Ban is Unconstitutional

On February 7, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled on Proposition 8, which would ban same-sex marriage in California. The court found Prop 8 unconstitutional.

The ruling hinged on whether Prop 8, which was passed in 2008, violates the constitutional rights of same-sex couples.

In the 2-1 ruling, the court decided that “Proposition 8 served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California."

Prop 8 was widely expected to be struck down, as the Ninth Circuit Court is ruling on whether or not it agrees with the findings of facts illustrated by Ninth Circuit Court Judge Vaughan Walker, who struck down Prop 8 in 2010.

• Full Text of Judge Vaughan Walker's Prop 8 Ruling
• Is Prop 8 Judge Vaughan Walker Gay? Does It Matter?
• Prop 8 Trial Tracker
  

In a big-picture sense, Walker found that Prop 8 negatively impacted the civil rights of same-sex Californians, whilst striking down Prop 8 would have no tangible impact on those opposed to same-sex marriage.

Supporters of Prop 8 will appeal to a larger Ninth Circuit court panel as soon as possible, no doubt. The case could reach the US Supreme Court as early as 2013.

The Ninth Circuit Court also covers Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii. Today's ruling does not affect those states' existing same-sex marriage laws.

You can see live coverage of the Prop 8 ruling announcement, due at 10am PT/1pm ET, below.