9th circuit court attempts to redefine marriage

California's ban on gay marriage appears headed to the United States Supreme Court following a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court ruled on Tuesday that Proposition 8 was a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians. 

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The three judge panel affirmed the decision of a lower court judge who declared the same in 2010. 

However, gay marriages in California are still forbidden as the ruling will be appealed to a larger panel of the 9th Circuit and could potentially make its way to the US Supreme Court.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who happens to be one of the courts most liberal judges said in his ruling, "Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples."

However Proposition 8 proponents argue that it does no such thing. In that status quo, any individual, regardless of personal choice, may still marry a person of the opposite sex if they so choose. Allowing gays and lesbians to marry members of the same sex would amount to extra rights, not afforded by the definition of marriage which is exclusively between a man and a woman. 

More than 50 people celebrated the announcement today outside of San Francisco's federal courthouse. The group made mostly of gays and lesbians waved rainbow flags and held signs in opposition to Proposition 8. 

While the gay movement insists that the gay lifestyle should be accepted as mainstream, alongside traditional marriage and culture, they are brushing aside the mainstream majority that passed Proposition 8 in 2008. At that time, virtually every county in the state voted in favor of the proposition to recognize marriage as a union that is only possible between one man and one woman. 

If Proposition 8 is ultimately defeated, proponents warn that it could set a precedent that allows gays and lesbians to redefine the meaning of marriage for everybody else in the country. 

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