Appeals Court Upholds No on Prop 8

"By using their initiative power to target a minority group and withdraw a right that it possessed, without a legitimate reason for doing so, the People of California violated the Equal Protection Clause. We hold Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional on this ground. We don not doubt the importance of the more general questions presented to us concerning the rights of same-sex couples to marry, nor do we doubt that these questions will likely be resolved in other states, and for the nation as a whole, by other courts. For now, it suffices to conclude that the People of California may not, consistent with the Federal Constitution, add to their state const itution a provision that has no more practical effect than to strip gays and lesbians of their right to use the official designation that the State and society give to committed relationships, thereby adversely affecting the status and dignity of the members of a disfavored class. The judgement of the district court is AFFIRMED."

Circuit Judge Stephen R. Reinhardt, for U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, February 7, 2012. Perry v. Brown, Nos. 10-16696, 11-16577 - opinion regarding the constitutionality of Proposition 8 and the denial of a motion to vacate the lower court judgment in the case – appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.