San Francisco federal judge Vaughn Walker has overruled California’s Proposition 8, the electoral referendum passed by voters in California in 2008. The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 in a 6 to 1 ruling in May 2009. The proposition, which passed 52 percent to 48 percent, overturned a May 2008 ruling of the state Supreme Court that resulted in, among other provisions, the legalization of same sex marriage in the state. Judge Walker said in the opinion that Proposition 8 violated the federal constitutional rights of gays and lesbians. Walker found that the plaintiffs challenges of Proposition 8 under the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment were both meritorious because the proposition unconstitutionally creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Feminist Majority Foundation released a statement applauding the ruling. FMF Executive Vice President Kathy Spillar and President Eleanor Smeal said, “We are thrilled with today’s ruling upholding the right of same-sex couples to marry. As the trial showed – and Judge Walker’s decision affirmed – there truly is no substance to the arguments of those who would deny full equality to lesbians and gay men. Same-sex couples will now be able to enjoy the same freedom as other Californians to marry the person they love.” The Feminist Majority Foundation campaigned to defeat Prop 8 and coauthored an amicus brief with NOW submitted in a case before the California Supreme Court in favor of overturning Prop 8. Both sides vowed to appeal, no matter the ruling, according to the New York Daily News. The case is expected to reach the United States Supreme Court.
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