The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld the district court decision striking down California’s Proposition 8, which bans marriage equality in the state. Michael Keegan, president of People For the American Way, issued the following statement in response:

“Today’s ruling is a major victory for equality and for the thousands of California couples who saw their marriage rights disappear four years ago.

“Proposition 8 hurt Californians. It took away the freedom of committed couples to legally marry, to raise children in security, to visit each other in the hospital and to provide for each other in old age. It hurt gay and lesbian Californians, and it hurt their friends and families. Proposition 8 wasn’t just unconstitutional – it was simply wrong.

“I congratulate all the Californians who have regained their freedom to marry, and hope that that freedom will soon be extended to every American.”

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