Appeals Court Puts Same-Sex Marriages on Hold

Without comment, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals extended a stay on Judge Vaughn Walker's August 4 decision striking down Proposition 8.

Gay couples will not be allowed to marry until at least early December, when the appellate court will hear arguments whether Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages, is unconstitutional.

Judge Walker had ordered his ruling to take effect at 5:00 on August 18 unless the appellate court issued a stay. 

In extending the stay, the Ninth Circuit judges instructed proponents of Proposition 8 to explain why they have legal standing in the case. Some legal experts question whether any entity but the state of California, which is responsible for enforcing the ban, can challenge Judge Walker's decision on appeal.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger and Attorney General Jerry Brown, as representatives of the state, were defendants in the case before Judge Walker. But soon after Walker's decision both Schwarzenneger and Brown filed legal briefs asking the judge to allow same-sex couples to marry.