Prop. 8 Appeal Set for December 6

The U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit will hear oral arguments in the federal challenge against California's Proposition 8 on December 6 at 10 a.m. in San Francisco, the court announced Thursday.

The members of three-judge panel who will hear arguments have not yet been announced.

Earlier this week, attorneys representing the two gay couples who sued the state after they were denied marriage licenses filed their brief to the appeals court, arguing that while Prop. 8 was promoted in media campaigns by anti-marriage equality forces to protect children, "its unmistakable purpose and effect is to isolate gay men and lesbians and their relationships as separate, unusual, dangerous, and unworthy of the marital relationship."

U.S. district judge Vaughn R. Walker struck down the antigay ballot measure as unconstitutional in August.