A U.S. Federal Court judge has overturned Proposition 8, California's same-sex marriage ban.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled Wednesday that the controversial rule was unconstitutional and struck it down.

Passed by the state legislature in November 2008, Proposition 8 was a referendum passed by 52 per cent of California voters that outlawed gay marriages, five months after they were legalized by the state's Supreme Court.

The ruling is significant in that it's the first such ruling in a federal court. Numerous states have supported and challenged the legality of same-sex marriages on a state level, but Judge Walker's ruling in a federal court opens the door to the issue eventually being appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The ruling will almost certainly be appealed, as supporters on both sides of the issue had pledged to do so if the court ruled against them on Wednesday.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/0...-marriage.html