The highly publicized Proposition 8 will be ruled on today in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Prop 8 overturned legalized same-sex marriages in California in 2008. The ruling comes congruent as the state of Washington may pass a gay marriage bill. Washington would be the seventh state in the U.S. to allow same-sex marriages, reports USA Today.
In 2010, after Prop 8 was challenged by gay and lesbian couples, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled the ballot measure a violation of the Constitution’s equality guarantee. It’s this ruling that brought Prop 8 into the spotlight today.
A campaign for Prop 8 raised just under $40 million; where as, its opponents raised just over $43 million. This makes it the one most funded campaign on any state ballot.
However, regardless of how the three-judge panel rules on Prop 8 this afternoon, there is very little doubt that the case will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. If this happens and the nation’s highest court votes in favor of same-sex marriages, then gays and lesbians nation wide would have the right to marry.
The ruling is expected to be handed down at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard time.
Currently, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampsire, New York and Vermont all allow same-sex couples to obtain a marriage license.
