SAN FRANCISCO: Same-sex marriage moved one step closer to the Supreme Court on Tuesday when a federal appeals court ruled California's ban unconstitutional, saying it serves no purpose other than to "lessen the status and human dignity" of gays. (At Right: Gay man celebrating the court ruling.)

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave gay marriage opponents time to appeal the 2-1 decision before ordering the state to allow same-sex weddings to resume.

The ban known as Proposition 8 was approved by voters in 2008 with 52 percent of the vote. The court said it was unconstitutional because it singled out a minority group for disparate treatment for no compelling reason.

The justices concluded that the law had no purpose other than to deny gay couples marriage, since California already grants them all the rights and benefits of marriage if they register as domestic partners.

"Had Marilyn Monroe's film been called `How to Register a Domestic Partnership with a Millionaire,' it would not have conveyed the same meaning as did her famous movie, even though the underlying drama for same-sex couples is no different," the court said.

The lone dissenting judge insisted that the ban could help ensure that children are raised by married, opposite-sex parents.*

*From Ron: This statement from a judge despite the fact that all studies have shown children brought up by same sex couples do equally well, often better, in school than children of non gay couples. Usually education starts at the bottom but in cases of racial and sexual prejudices, it also has to start at the top.