San Francisco, Calif., Aug 12, 2010 / 13:19 pm
A California judge who ruled last week against Proposition 8 – a measure that defined marriage as between one man and one woman in the state – denied a motion today by traditional marriage supporters to stay his ruling while the case is on appeal.
Instead of granting the stay, U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled on Thursday that Proposition 8 will be rendered ineffective as of Aug. 18 at 5 p.m. Pacific time.
On Aug. 4, Judge Walker ruled that Proposition 8, an initiative which passed in November 2008 with the support of seven million Californians, both “unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation.”
The constitutionality of Prop. 8 was challenged immediately after it was approved in 2008. The Aug. 4 ruling is being appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and may make it to the U.S. Supreme Court. The group defending the law is ProtectMarriage.com with assistance from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).