Supremes Punt Prop 8

After declaring the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the supporters of Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, lack standing to appeal. The state’s controversial gay-marriage ban was voted into law in 2008, but ruled unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment—which guarantees equal protection under the law—by a federal appeals court last year. Today the justices upheld that federal court ruling. This means that, at least in areas where court clerks oppose Prop 8, same-sex marriage will now be legal in California.