On Tuesday, a federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that the California ban on same-sex marriage violated the rights of homosexual individuals, and as such, could not continue to be law.
The three-person panel in San Francisco was not unanimous in their ruling, but two of the judges felt that the voter-passed proposition treated domestic partners differently from married couples in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Laws cannot be used solely to treat different classes of people differently.
The 2-1 ruling will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court.
In terms of the political fallout from the decision, it's clear that this may provide momentum for Democrats, who for the most part have been in favor of the repeal of Proposition 8.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi called the decision a "victory for civil rights and for progress for the LGBT community and for all Californians." California's senators both hailed the ruling, with Barbara Boxer calling it "historic" and a "major step forward." Dianne Feinstein said she "could not be prouder of our judicial system."
Contrast that with the position taken by Mitt Romney, one of the Republican front-runners in the current presidential campaign. He said, "Today, unelected judges cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage. This decision does not end this fight, and I expect it to go to the Supreme Court."
Romney, much like the rest of his party's potential candidates, wants to preserve "traditional marriage" and reject same-sex unions of any kind. With this ruling, along with the expected passing of laws in Washington and New Jersey, there appears to be a groundswell of support on the side of allowing such marriages to take place.
As the November election approaches and this divide along party lines becomes more and more pronounced, rulings like these and the public acceptance of them may well help to tip the scales in favor of Barack Obama and the rest of the Democratic ticket come the next major voting cycle.
Comments