California's Proposition 8 Overturned
By: Ray Doughty
Updated: August 5, 2010
A federal judge has overturned California's Proposition 8, the state's voter approved ban on same-sex marriage.
Gay marriage supporters had held their collective breath for the past two years.
On Wednesday there was a collective and joyous sigh of relief.
From San Francisco's Castro district to the streets of West Hollywood, the iconic homes of the gay rights movement celebrated the court ruling striking down Proposition 8.
At the heart of Chief U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling:
Was Prop 8's narrow definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman only a violation of the Constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples who want to marry?
Judge walker said it was.
Now the appeals begin.
In a move that seemed to show they were prepared for defeat, Prop 8 supporters filed a motion to continue the ban on same sex marriages pending appeal of Wednesday's ruling.
