A Supreme Court ruling has made a US appeals court lift the ban on same-sex marriages in California, after a voter-approved ban came into effect in November 2008.
After the issue of an order by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, gay weddings resumed at the city hall within moments, which were the first gay marriages in the state after the ban, BBC reports.
The report added that the US Supreme Court left in place a lower court ruling that had struck down the ban, also known as Proposition 8, which means that 13 US states along with the District of Columbia would now recognize same-sex marriage.
The supporters of the proposition described the ruling as 'outrageous' and accused their opponents of 'achieving their goal in a dishonourable fashion'.
Shortly after the decision, the wedding of Kris Perry and Sandy Stier was officiated by California's Attorney General Kamala Harris, while the couple was declared 'spouse and spouse' but they took each other as a 'lawfully wedded wife'.
However, general counsel for the coalition of religious conservative groups, Andy Pugno said that it remains to be seen whether the fight could go on but it was a disgraceful day for California.
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Proposition 8 was passed by California voters in 2008, months after the state supreme court had deemed gay unions to be legal.
The US Supreme Court said in a separate statement that a private party did not have the right, or 'standing' to defend the constitutionality of a law, because it could not demonstrate it would suffer injury if the law were to be struck down and same-sex marriages allowed.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the ruling that they had no authority to decide this case on the merits.