West Hollywood, Others Celebrate Appeals Court Ruling on Prop 8

The word "Yay!" escaped Ivy Bottini's mouth at around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. A federal appeals court had just declared California's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

"Having worked for over 50 years, this is a moment I have never experienced," Bottini, a , told a crowd at with tears in her eyes. "I am happy for those wanting to get married. For many, it says, 'I am a human being.' "

In a 2-1 ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld Justice Vaughn Walker's 2010 ruling that found California's Proposition 8 "both unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation."

In March 2000, California voters approved Proposition 22, which specified that only marriages between a man and a woman would be considered valid in California. In May 2008, the California State Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 22 was unconstitutional because it discriminated against gay and lesbian people.

The next year, the California Supreme Court made a ruling that upheld Prop 8 and reinstated the ban on same-sex marriage in California, halting all same-sex marriages in the state.

Justice Walker the ballot measure in 2010. But in 2011, Prop 8 backers asked that his ruling be  because the judge was in a long-term same-sex relationship that he had not disclosed.

ProtectMarriage, the backers of Prop 8, can appeal to the Ninth Circuit panel or go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"It's been a bit of a roller coaster, but it's getting up today, rather than a fast trip down," West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Prang said. "Hopefully this movement will continue state to state."

Beverly Hills Planning Commissioner Brian Rosenstein was one of several residents to note the decision on Facebook when he wrote, "9th Circuit Court of Appeals [sic] rules Prop 8 unconstitutional!" Councilwoman Lili Bosse was one of a dozen residents who "liked" his post. 

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