Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court in Northern California struck down Proposition 8 Wednesday, finding that it violated gay Californians’ equal protection and due process rights under the U.S. Constitution, according to Am Law Daily sibling publication The Recorder.

In a 136-page decision released just before 5 p.m. EST, Walker said the voter-enacted measure “fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.”

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