Prop. 8 decision to be released Wednesday

By Sacramento Bee

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker will issue a decision Wednesday on the constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage, according to a court announcement today.

Walker’s written order will be released electronically Wednesday – no hour was given – and will later be available for public review in federal courthouses in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.

Walker presided over a historic trial January and June in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. Two gay couples challenged Proposition 8, which voters approved in November 2008, saying it violated their federal constitutional right to equal protection.

Walker’s decision, whatever it may be, is expected to be appealed.