A landmark federal ruling on California Proposition 8 has thrust the issue of “gay marriage” back into the national spotlight. Following are five questions and answers about the ruling’s significance.

First, the questions:

— What did the judge rule?
— What happens next?
— Why is this case more significant than other “gay marriage” cases?
— Why are some people saying the ruling could mark a cultural shift?
— What legal arguments will Prop 8 supporters make during their appeal?

Now, the answers:

— What did the judge rule?

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker overturned California’s constitutional marriage amendment known as Proposition 8, ruling it violates the due process and equal protection rights of same-sex couples under the U.S. Constitution. Prop 8, he wrote, “does nothing more than” discriminate and “enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.” It marks the first time a federal judge has ruled there is a federal constitutional right to “gay marriage.” Prop 8, passed in 2008 by a margin of 52-48 percent, reads: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

— What happens next?

ProtectMarriage.com, the group that sponsored the amendment, is appealing the decision to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where a randomly selected three-judge panel will hear it.

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