Archive for August 4, 2010

IPCC Results May 2010 Institute of Chartered Accountants of India announced the IPCC Results May 2010.   Read More

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Breaking News: Prop 8 Overturned 2010

Prop 8 OVERTURNED: Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down In California
In a major victory for gay rights activists, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday that a voter initiative banning same-sex marriage in California violated the Constitution’s equal protection and due process rights clauses. After a five-month wait, 9th Circuit District Court Judge Vaughn Walker offered a 136-page decision in the case of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, firmly rejecting Proposition 8, which was passed by voters in November 2008. “Although Proposition 8 fails to possess even a rational basis, the evidence presented at trial shows that gays and lesbians are the type of minority strict scrutiny was designed to protect,” Walker ruled. “Plaintiffs do not seek recognition of a new right. To characterize plaintiffs’ objective as “the right to same-sex marriage” would suggest that plaintiffs seek something different from what opposite-sex couples across the state enjoy — namely, marriage. Rather, plaintiffs ask California to recognize their relationships for what they are: marriages.” “Proposition 8 places the force of law behind stigmas against gays and lesbians, including: gays and lesbians do not have intimate relationships similar to heterosexual couples; gays and lesbians are not as good as heterosexuals; and gay and lesbian relationships do not deserve the full recognition of society.” The judgment was the first offered by a federal court with respect to laws banning gay marriage at the state level and it promises to have massive reverberations across the political and judicial landscape. The decision is now expected to head to the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court (also based in San Francisco) for appeal and from there to the Supreme Court. In the interim, however, Walker’s ruling gave gay-rights activists a second occasion to rejoice in less than a month. In July, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as one man and one woman, was also unconstitutional. “It is not only a home run it is a grand slam,” said Jon Davidson the legal director at Lambda Legal, the country’s largest and oldest LBGT legal organization.

Prop 8 Ruling: Read The FULL TEXT
SAN FRANCISCO (Associated Press) — A person close to the case says a federal judge has overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban in a landmark case that could eventually land before the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker made his ruling Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by two gay couples who claimed the voter-approved ban violated their civil rights. A copy of the ruling had not yet been publicly released. Both sides previously said an appeal was certain if Walker did not rule in their favor. The case would go first to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals then the Supreme Court if the high court justices agree to review it. Prop 8 Ruling FINAL More on Gay Marriage.

Proposition 8 Overturned: Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban Wednesday in a landmark case that could eventually land before the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if gays have a constitutional right to marry in America. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker made his ruling in a lawsuit filed by two gay couples who claimed the voter-approved ban violated their civil rights. Gay couples waving rainbow and American flags outside the courthouse cheered, hugged and kissed as word of the ruling spread. Despite the favorable ruling for same-sex couples, gay marriage will not be allowed to resume. That’s because the judge said he wants to decide whether his order should be suspended while the proponents pursue their appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

California’s Proposition 8 gay marriage ban overturned by court | Richard Adams
Judge rules that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marriage, overturning California’s controversial Proposition 8Declaring that “same-sex love and intimacy are well-documented in human history,” a judge has overturned California’s ban on homosexual marriage as unconstitutional ” in a sweeping victory for gay and lesbian civil rights.US district judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the ban on gay and lesbian marriage imposed by the Proposition 8 referendum in 2008 ” when it was backed by 52% of California’s voters ” violated the right to equal protection under the US Constitution.Gay rights protester outside the courtroom in San Francisco where the case was heard erupted in celebration as news of the ruling filtered out. But little will change immediately as the decision will set off a round of appeals that will see the issue ultimately decided by the US Supreme Court.Even before the ruling was announced, supporters of the marriage ban had asked for the decision to be put on hold pending an appeal to the next level, the US ninth circuit court of appeals.Judge Walker’s ruling in the case of Perry versus Schwarzenegger witheringly dismissed the arguments put forward by supporters of Proposition 8, saying that they failed “to advance any rational basis … for denial of a marriage license”. In his lengthy decision, Walker wrote: “The state does not have an interest in enforcing private moral or religious beliefs without an accompanying secular purpose.”Walker’s ruling said the opponents of Proposition 8 “demonstrated by overwhelming evidence” that the ban violated their constitutional rights.Gay marriage had been legalised in California in May 2008 after a decision by the state’s supreme court. But that ruling was overturned after the California state constitution was amended to bar gay marriage in November 2008 by the passage of Proposition 8.The judge’s full ruling can be read here.Gay rightsCaliforniaUS constitution and civil libertiesMarriageCivil liberties – internationalUS supreme courtArnold SchwarzeneggerUnited StatesRichard Adamsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds.

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