August 6, 2010
The judge who overturned California's gay marriage ban was unrelenting in his repudiation of the measure, saying such laws are mean-spirited and unconstitutional to the core.
It was a harsh yet carefully worded ruling that some experts said would be tough to overturn as the landmark legal debate goes to the appeals court and then possibly to the U.S. Supreme Court. Others say the power of conservative judges on those courts could be enough to thwart gay marriage and stop the movement in its tracks.
Sure to be at the center of the debate is whether California's Proposition 8 violates the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protections for all and declares that government won't take away "life, liberty or property" without due process.
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