Judge's ruling offers preview into gay marriage appeal
By SAN FRANCISCO - The judge who overturned California's gay marriage ban was unrelenting in his repudiation of the measure, saying such laws are mean-spirited and unconstitutional to the core.. It was a harsh yet carefully worded ruling some experts said would be tough to overturn as the landmark legal debate goes to the appeals court and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court.. Others say the power of conservative judges on those courts could be enough to thwart gay marriage and stop the movement in its tracks.. Sure to be at the center of the debate is whether California's Proposition 8 violates the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protections for all and declares that government won't take away "life, liberty or property" without due process.. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said on several occasions in his ruling that he believes gay marriage bans clearly deprive people of those rights.. "The evidence at trial regarding the campaign to pass Proposition 8 uncloaks the most likely explanation for its passage: a desire to advance the belief that opposite-sex couples are morally superior to same-sex couples," he said.. Walker's ruling offers a preview of some of the arguments that will play out on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals - the nation's largest and most unpredictable federal appeals court.. Experts say the court will play a huge role in determining the future of the case. A randomly selected three-judge panel of the court will consider the case next.. The 9th Circuit is viewed as a liberal court, but its sheer size of 27 active judges and the many cutting-edge legal issues it receives from western states leaves it with an inconsistent track record.
