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Indybay Feature

No Gay Marriages in California This Week, or this Year

by R. Robertson
Same-sex marriages will not take place this week in California as many waiting couples had hoped. Marriage rights activists had anticipated that Judge Vaughn Walker would lift a stay on gay marriages this week but a federal appeals court put legal marriages on hold indefinitely today. The appeals court will be looking at the constitutionality of the state's gay marriage ban.

Photo by Eve Moran: Less than 2 weeks ago gay rights activists in Mountain View celebrated Judge Walker's lower court decision.
prop2010marchem.jpg
The Federal court decision on California's Prop 8 was announced on August 4th. Judge Vaughn Walker ruled for the plaintiffs in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court that challenged the constitutional validity of California's Proposition 8. The plaintiffs sought to have the federal court strike down the proposition, saying it is contrary to the 14th Amendment's guarantee to equal protection.

Marriage rights activists held community gatherings throughout the state in response to the decision that evening. Their joy was tempered by the fact that the judge placed a stay on the performance of gay marriages until August 18. Much anticipation, and many wedding plans, were evident but it now appears those weddings will also have to be put on hold.

Countries that have legalized gay marriage are Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. Gay marriage is legal in Mexico City.

In the USA, gay marriage is legal in in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., and advocates of gay rights said it was due time for California to come on board. It now looks, however, as if same-sex weddings won't be happening any time soon. A stay is in place while an appeals court looks at the constitutionality of the state's gay marriage ban.
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