A federal appeals court made a potentially historic decision on Feb. 7, declaring the voter-approved law in California on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional.
In a 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was the first federal appellate court to overturn recent proliferation of state laws in defining marriage as a joining of man and woman, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
The court gave those opponents of gay marriage time to appeal the ruling before ordering the state to continue to allow same-sex marriage.
Prop 8 is still in effect while the case proceeds to the Supreme Court. Prop 8 supporters predict victory.
Andy Pugno, a lawyer for a conservative religious coalition called Protect Marriage, said that more than 7 million Californians voted to restore marriage as a union between man and woman, reported SFGate.com.
Although there are people who have voted to restore marriage, there are many who still see the Prop 8 ban as a discriminatory against equal rights.
In August 2010, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker concluded the nation’s first federal court trial on same-sex marriage. Gays and lesbians do have the constitutional right to marry and choose their partner, and Prop 8 was labeled to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender.
Though the ruling has made headlines across the United States, some students at Kapi‘olani Community College have followed the news.
Liberal arts major Francisco Vargas, 26, associated last week’s announcement as America being “showy” about what they do and making a big deal of things.
“What is tolerant and what is not?” he asked. “People in other countries do other things.”
In an article posted on PBS.org, Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the ruling that Proposition 8 severs no purpose and has no effect, and it only lessens the status of human dignity of the gays and lesbians in California.
This ruling has not always been set in action.
According to the Ninth Circuit’s Prop 8 ruling, “prior to Nov. 4, 2008, the California Constitution guaranteed the right to marry to opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples alike … the People of California adopted Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry…”
Some Kapi‘olani Community College students agree that Prop 8 is a step backwards for America in regards to freedom and equality in the nation.
“(Proposition 8 ) is backwards because equality means all the same,” said Lina Towne, 30, culinary major. “Female, male, all the same, they deserve to be happy.
Students were able to raise their concerns in how the 2-1 ruling by the Ninth Circuit isn’t supporting equality.
“I think it’s a step back,” said Cristi Bryant, 18, liberal arts major. “We’ve been working on equality for how many years? Why not pass this now?”