A federal appeals court in San Francisco issued a ruling today freezing a judge’s decision that overturned California’s ban on same-sex marriage.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request by backers of Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on gay and lesbian marriages, to stay the Aug. 4 ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker pending their appeal.
Walker had put the stay in place when he found Prop. 8 to be unconstitutional discrimination against gays and lesbians, but then lifted it last week. Had that decision stood, gay and lesbian couples could have been married starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Prop. 8 opponents could now turn to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who handles requests for emergency motions from the Ninth Circuit, and ask him to lift the stay.
Full story: Appeals court puts same-sex ruling on hold – San Francisco Chronicle
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