Supreme Court Rules on Prop. 8 Cameras

The Supreme Court has indefinitely blocked cameras from covering the high-profile federal court trial on the constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage.

The high court split 5-4 Wednesday, with the conservative justices in the majority. You can read the decision here (pdf).

Now in its third day, the trial in federal court in San Francisco is over the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage.

The presiding judge, Vaughn Walker, had proposed posting recordings of the trial on the court's Web site after several hours of delay and allowing real-time streaming of the trial for viewing in other federal courthouses in California, New York, Oregon and Washington.

The lawsuit was brought by two gay couples. Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier, who live in Berkeley, and Paul Katami and Jeffrey Zarrillo, who live in Los Angeles are the plaintiffs

The first people to take the stand in the trial were the plaintiffs themselves.

Both male plaintiffs took the stand and tearfully talked about their love for each other and the heartache they felt because they are  not able to marry each other.

One of two lesbians involved in the suit testified that she and her partner have experienced an emotional roller coaster during the past six years involving their desire to marry.

 "I want it to happen to me," plaintiff Perry said. "The state isn't letting me feel happy."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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