San Francisco, Calif., Aug 17, 2010 / 09:37 am
Responding to the August 4 ruling by Judge Vaughn Walker that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday issued an emergency stay of the judge's decision.
U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker had ruled on Aug. 4 that Prop. 8 – a traditional marriage initiative which passed in November 2008 with the support of seven million Californians – was unconstitutional and mandated that it be null and void as of 5 p.m. on Aug. 18.
On Aug. 17, however, a panel from the Ninth Circuit issued an emergency stay of Judge Walker's ruling. The court granted a motion filed by the ProtectMarriage.com legal team, which included attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund.
Pro-marriage groups praised the court's decision on Tuesday.