Accessibility links

Breaking News

California Ban On Same-Sex Marriage Ruled Unconstitutional


A soon-to-be-married couple works their way through the crowd outside City Hall in San Francisco in June 2008.
A soon-to-be-married couple works their way through the crowd outside City Hall in San Francisco in June 2008.
A federal appeals court in California has ruled that the state's ban on same-gender marriages is unconstitutional.

Voters in California approved the ban, known as Proposition 8, by a slim majority in November 2008 after a court overturned a law that said only a man and a woman can be legally married.

The case is now likely to end up before the Supreme Court, whose ruling will affect laws in all 50 states.

Same-sex marriage is currently only legal in seven states and Washington, D.C.

A handful of states plan to let voters decide the issue in November.
  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL

    RFE/RL journalists report the news in 27 languages in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible discussion, and open debate.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG