Supreme Court Ruling Effectively Returns Gay Marriage to California
Gay couples in California will again be able to marry.
June 26, 2013— -- The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the supporters of California's anti-gay marriage law had no standing to argue the case in federal court.
Here's what that means.
California's Proposition 8 banned gay marriage. When two same-sex couples challenged the law, state officials declined to defend it. Instead, supporters of the ban on gay marriage who wanted it to remain in place stepped forward to defend it in court. The Supreme Court said Wednesday they didn't have the right to do that.
The highly-regarded SCOTUS blog notes that new challenges to this order could arise, but for right now, Proposition 8 is not enforceable.
That comes as good news to a majority of Californians, who support gay marriage, and should also be welcome news to most Hispanics nationwide.
Latinos are more likely than any other demographic to support gay marriage, a March Quinnipiac poll found. Sixty-three percent of self-identified Hispanics are in favor of gay marriage, compared to just 32 percent of blacks and 48 percent of whites.
Gay marriage is now legal in more than a dozen states. While the Proposition 8 ruling was limited to California, it's a huge step for gay rights supporters.
We want to hear your thoughts. Do you think the Supreme Court ruled correctly?
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