California’s Supreme Court has rejected a last-ditch attempt to revive the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Supporters of Proposition 8 — a controversial ballot measure approved by voters in 2008 which banned same-sex marriage — had requested that the measure continued to be enforced in California.
The backers argued that a 2010 ruling by a federal judge which declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional should be ignored.
However the request was dismissed by the California Supreme Court in a ruling on Wednesday. The court did not release its reasons for the dismissal of the petition.
The attempt to resurrect Proposition 8 came after the US Supreme Court’s historic June 26 decision which ruled that same-sex marriage opponents had no legal standing to appeal the federal judge’s 2010 ruling which overturned the ban.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal swiftly lifted a stay it had placed on the ruling during the appeals process, a move which allowed same-sex marriages to resume.
“Prop 8 is dead and never coming back. As we celebrate this great victory, we remember the 37 other states without marriage equality,” said Chad Griffin, president of LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.
Thirteen US states plus the capital Washington, a federal district, allow gay marriage.
California Supreme Court rejects gay marriage ban bid
