Court rules California’s Prop 8 ban on same sex marriage unconstitutional

Today, a US appeals court ruled that California’s Proposition 8 measure that bans same sex marriage is unconstitutional. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upheld a previous decision that also struck down the state measure. Backers of Proposition 8 vowed to challenge the decision and the case may make its way to the US Supreme Court. After the ruling was issued, Sandra Stier, one of the lead plaintiffs in the case along with her partner, Kristin Perry, spoke about the decision in reference to the couple’s two teenage sons. “Our greatest hope for them is that they fall in love and are loved and they get to be their best selves and fulfill their own dreams. We want this for our own kids certainly but we want it for other kids. We want it for kids in Iowa, we want it for kids in Los Angeles. We want it for kids gay and straight. Today our court sends a powerful message to us and our children and our children’s children. And that is that we are all equal, we all deserve the same rights and we all matter.” For more, we’re joined by John Davidson legal director with LAMBDA Legal, the country’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to protecting the legal and civil rights of LGBT people.