7 February 2012 – San Francisco

In an opinion issued on 7 February 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed the decision of Federal Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who declared Proposition 8, California’s citizen initiative banning gay marriage, unconstitutional. It is expected that the decision, which has been more than a year in coming, will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

News items follow:

• Culture Watch: Ninth Circuit Court rules against marriage. (The Heritage Foundation)
• Proposition 8 and the new religious reality. (Ross Murray, On Faith, The Washington Post)
• Prop. 8: U.S. Supreme Court might not take gay-marriage case. (Maura Dolan and Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times)
• California gay marriage ban case may be headed to the Supreme Court. (Karen Gullo  and Andrew Harris, Bloomberg Businessweek)
• LDS Church, other religious groups respond to Prop 8 ruling. (Joseph Walker, The Desert News)
• Calif. same-sex marriage ban ruled unconstitutional. (Robert Barnes, The Washington Post)
• Politics and the Prop 8 decision. (Alex Koppelman, The New Yorker)
• Prop. 8 declared unconstitutional by 9th Circuit Court. (Michael De Groote, Deseret News)
• Prop. 8: Gay-marriage ban unconstitutional, court rules. (Los Angeles Times)
• Proposition 8 ruling prompts outpouring of political reaction. (The Huffington Post)
• Prop 8 Ruling: Judges invoke Marilyn Monroe, Movies and Jumbotrons. (Joshua L. Weinstein, The Wrap)
• Prop 8, California’s same-sex marriage ban, declared unconstitutional. (The Huffington Post)