Gay marriage backers cheer rejection of Prop. 8

Backers of same-sex marriage in California immediately cheered a federal judge's decision to invalidate Prop. 8.

“This ruling marks a victory for loving, committed couples who want nothing more than the same rights and security as other families,” Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said minutes after Walker’s ruling was released. “From the start, this has been about basic fairness.”

Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, also hailed the ruling.

"This decision affirms that in America, we don't treat people differently because of their sexual orientation," she said in a statement."We rejoice at today's decision but there's a long road ahead toward establishing true marriage equality for same-sex couples."

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, also released a statement: "In striking down Proposition 8, Judge Walker came to the same conclusion I did when I declined to defend it: Proposition 8 violates the equal protection guarantee of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution by taking away the right of same-sex couples to marry, without a sufficient governmental interest."

Rallies are planned for the afternoon and evening in San Francisco's Castro District as well as in West Hollywood and downtown L.A.

-- Carol J. Williams and Anna Gorman

Comments

[ta]

:The basic civil rights of a human being should not be put up for a vote on a ballot."

So if you should decide to marry your mother ...?

[Doug Macy]

I believe it is quite simply NOT GOVERNMENT BUSINESS to impose the moral, religious, reproductive or sexual preferences of any number of it's citizens on the rest of them.

[Zach]

Hi Rosie, it seems to me you still disapprove of homosexuality. So...no one's forced you to do anything. Your rights are still intact. I'm sure you're obligated to continue spreading the Word, so maybe you should stick to that, perhaps with a little less seething anger and spite for your fellow man.