THE US federal appeals court overseeing a lawsuit over gay marriage in California said today that same-sex couples cannot get married while it continues to consider whether a 2008 ballot measure banning gay marriage is constitutional.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit had asked the court to allow same-sex marriages to begin in California, in accordance with a federal court ruling that declared the ballot measure, Proposition 8, unconstitutional.
The lawsuit has been at a standstill since a Ninth Circuit panel heard oral arguments in December. After that hearing, the federal appeals court asked the California Supreme Court to clarify whether California law allows sponsors of a voter initiative to appeal a court decision.
The California Supreme Court said it may take until the end of the year to have an answer.
In the meantime, the couples who brought the lawsuit had asked that a court-ordered hold on same-sex marriages be lifted. A federal court judge in San Francisco had declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional last year, paving the way for same-sex marriages to begin in the nation's most populous state.
When the backers of Proposition 8 filed an appeal, the appeals court said marriages should be "stayed" until there is a final ruling from the federal appeals court.
In its decision denying a removal of the stay, the Ninth Circuit said only that after weighing the "facts and circumstances surrounding the motion to vacate the stay … we deny Plaintiff's motion at this time
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world/california-same-sex-marriages-on-hold/story-e6frfkz0-1226027207746#ixzz1HVZz7KXC
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