Ruling on Proposition 8 Due Today

The California Supreme Court is about to determine the fate of same-sex marriage as well as the validity of approximately 18,000 same-sex marriages. An announcement is expected around 10 a.m. this morning.

UPDATE: Prop 8 has been upheld.

From CNN:

The court will rule on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the controversial measure banning same-sex marriage that voters approved in November.

Its opponents want the amendment nullified. They say the proposition alters California’s Constitution and, therefore, under state law, is a revision that requires a constitutional convention.

Attorneys for the opponents also say the proposition, which removed the “marriage” label from same-sex unions, effectively deprives same-sex couples of a fundamental right guaranteed them under the equal-protection clause in the U.S. Constitution. Watch what’s at stake with the decision »

Justices asked many questions when they heard arguments in the case in March but didn’t indicate which way they leaned, instead focusing on winnowing out each attorney’s individual argument on the issue.

Proposition 8 passed with about 52.5 percent of the vote, making California one of several states to ban same-sex marriage in the November 4 elections. But unlike others, California had been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples since the state Supreme Court ruled in May 2008 that the unions were legal.

Along with determining the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the court will determine whether about 18,000 same-sex marriages conducted before the ban are still valid.