NBC News and news services updated 2 hours 1 minutes ago 2012-02-07T18:09:09

"SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court has declared California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional, paving the way for a likely U.S. Supreme Court showdown on the voter-approved law, NBC News is reporting. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 Tuesday that a lower court judge interpreted the U.S. Constitution correctly in 2010 when he declared the ban, known as Proposition 8, to be a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians."

I imagine the decision is destined to be reviewed en banc by the 9th and may eventually find its way to the SCOTUS.