Proposition 8, the law that bans same-sex marriage in California, has been ruled unconstitutional by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The announcement, made just before 10am PT today, is another nail in the coffin of marriage inequality in the US. The fight for LGBT equality is still far from over, however. According to Andrew Gumbel in The Guardian (UK), the ruling “will not put an end to the argument about the rights of same-sex couples in the United States, but it will be a vital stepping stone toward the inevitable final showdown in the Supreme Court in Washington.”

Speaking as neither a resident nor a citizen of the US, I find it bizarre that a nation that makes so much of its commitment to freedom of expression should have such a problem granting so many of its citizens the right to make one of the most beautiful human expressions of all. Here’s to more victories in a battle whose final outcome I think we all, despite the pains and frustrations of the wait, can predict.

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