Appeals Court Lifts California Ban on Gay Marriage

Gay marriages can resume in California. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted its stay onaninjunction which ordered California state officials to stop enforcing Proposition 8. With this court action, counties in California can now begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

California voters passed Proposition 8 in 2008, just six months after the California Supreme Court ruled that gays had the right to wed. The state high court later ruled that the initiative was a valid state constitutional amendment but upheld the validity of an estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages that happened before the state election.

A spokesperson for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals originally said it would take at least 25 days to act after the Supreme Court ruling, but immediately afterward, Gov. Jerry Brownordered his public health agency to advise the state's counties to "begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in California as soon as the 9th Circuit confirms the stay is lifted."

Twitter erupted after the announcement on Friday. Kamala Harris, U.S. attorney general for the state of California,tweetedshe was about to marry two of the Proposition 8 plaintiffs Friday.

The tweet read, "About to marry the #Prop8plaintiffs Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier. Wedding bells are ringing!"