Appeals Court Rejects California’s Same Sex Marriage Ban

BREAKING NEWS

California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution, according to a ruling today by a Federal Appeals Court.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to be appealed. But supporters of same-sex marriages cheered the decision when it was announced Tuesday morning.

The 2-1 decision found the ban -- known as Proposition 8 -- "served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationship and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples." That violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law, the decision states.

Six states now grant same-sex marriage licenses -- New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire. The District of Columbia also does.

(From CNN)