Gay marriage ban overturned

California’s ban on same-sex marriage has been declared to be unconstitutional by a federal appeals court.

The ruling puts the bitterly contested, voter-approved law on track for likely consideration by the US Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled two to one that a lower court judge had correctly interpreted the US Constitution in 2010 when he declared that Proposition 8 was a violation of the civil rights of gay and lesbian people.