Same-sex marriage in California: its ban ruled illegal

The federal court in San Francisco said Wednesday that the ban on gay marriage in California, approved by referendum in 2008, was "unconstitutional" a victory for gay rights advocates, officials said at the court.

The Judge Vaughn Walker's decision comes eight months after the first hearings of a sensational trial, which pitted several weeks of fierce advocates and opponents of gay unions.

The lawsuit was filed by a couple of lesbians challenging Proposition 8, which was adopted in November 2008 by 52% of Californians had annulled the decision of the Supreme Court of the State, a few months earlier to allow unions homosexuals in California.

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"Proposition 8 fails to establish any rational basis for the prohibition of marriage for gays and lesbians," wrote Judge Walker's decision. "In fact, Proposition 8 amounts to include in the Constitution that opposite sex couples are higher than those of the same sex," he says.

"California had no interest in discriminating against gays and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its duty to propose marriage equally to all, the court concluded that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional," he wrote.

The judge then ruled for the opponents to Proposition 8, who said it discriminates against homosexuals, and therefore contrary to the U.S. Constitution.

"This is a real victory for same-sex couples and families who want to marry like all others," said George Zander, a spokesman for advocacy group Equality California gay rights.

The decision of the federal court in San Francisco is another step in a record-long course that would in all probability, still subject to several appeals, and finish after racing on the office of the U.S. Supreme Court USA.

Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, who claims the protection of children and families, the decision of the court is "a terrible blow" given to marriage and the rights of voters.

For its part, the Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger has positively welcomed the decision, saying it was "a first step for the United States, and not the last, on the road to equality and freedom for all .

Currently, gays and lesbians Americans have the opportunity to marry in the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the federal capital Washington.