Calif. Gay Marriage Case: Court Dismisses Proposition 8

The Supreme Court today (June 26) ruled that the defenders of Proposition 8 have no legal standing, an announcement made on the heels of the Court's strike down of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

The case, Hollingsworth v. Perry, centered on Proposition 8, a 2008 California voter initiative that revoked the right of same-sex marriage that had been given by a judge months earlier. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional, but same-sex marriages have been on hold in California pending the current Supreme Court appeal.

By dismissing the case on standing, the Court sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with instructions for it to dismiss the case, according to the SCOTUS blog. The ruling also prohibits the governor and attorney general from enforcing Prop. 8, effectively allowing same-sex marriage in California; the ruling won't affect the rest of the country.

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