SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says a federal judge's decision to overturn California's gay marriage ban is an important step toward equality and freedom for all people.
The Republican governor says Wednesday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker "affirms the full legal protections and safeguards I believe everyone deserves."
California voters amended the state's constitution to ban gay marriage in 2008, five months after the state Supreme Court legalized it.
Schwarzenegger was one of the original defendants, but he refused to support Proposition 8 in court.
Supporters of the ban previously said they would appeal, sending the case first to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, then potentially the U.S. Supreme Court.
