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On Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. His decision overturns the ban on gay marriage approved by 52 percent of California voters in November 2008. The ballot measure followed the California State Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage.

A lawsuit was brought against Prop 8 by two gay California couples. California Attorney General Jerry Brown and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were also named as defendants in the case, but they declined to support Prop 8 during the trial. Defending Prop 8 was the group that had put the measure on the ballot, Protect Marriage.

Closing arguments for California's same-sex marriage trial began today in a federal courtroom in San Francisco. The 2 1/2 week trial began in January, but was delayed over procedural issues until now. The trial seeks to determine whether marriage is a fundamental constitutional right for all people and whether it is being illegally denied to gays and lesbians through the passage of Proposition 8.

The ballot measure Proposition 8 was passed by voters last fall in response to a decision by the California Supreme Court that said it was discriminatory to ban gays and lesbians from marrying. In the six months between the state Supreme Court's decision and the passage of Prop 8, 18,000 same-sex couples went from being domestic partners to legally married couples in California.

A Superior Court judge ruled Friday that the parents of Bruce Beresford-Redman will continue to have temporary guardianship of Bruce's two young children until a trial for permanent guardianship takes place at a later date. The children's mother and Bruce's wife, Monica, was found murdered in Cancun, Mexico on April 8 of this year. Monica's sister, Carla Burgos, has requested that permanent guardianship be transferred to her.

Bruce Beresford-Redman had been in Mexico at the request of the Mexican authorities investigating Monica's death until he returned to Los Angeles a little over a week ago. Since last Sunday, he has been again living with his children. Bruce returned to Los Angeles to attend to family and personal matters, he said through his attorney. He maintains his innocence in Monica's death.

The attorney of the children's paternal grandparents filed an ex-parte motion on Thursday to give parental responsibility and custody back to their son. They withdrew the motion after the judge extended the temporary guardianship. The judge also noted that the father's situation is still unstable and may change. The next hearing on the matter is set for June 17, at which point a trial date will be set.

Proposition 8's constitutional ban of gay marriage was on trial for twelve days in January. On Friday, just before a midnight deadline, both sides filed their take on what was heard during that trial. The two takes on the evidence presented in the same trial are decidedly different, with both those defending and those challenging Proposition 8 arguing that their stance on marriage will clearly strengthen the institution and benefit children.

Attorneys on each side provided the post-trial scope of their arguments in writing for Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker. In their arguments, the attorneys consider the nature of marriage, the status of gays and lesbians in society, and the motives behind the passage of Proposition 8 in November 2008. Judge Walker will review the material before hearing the attorneys' closing arguments, which are yet to be scheduled.

A California woman, known in court documents as Charisma R., has had her status as a legal co-parent confirmed and has won child visitation rights to the daughter she had with her former lesbian partner. The U.S. Supreme Court denied review of an appeal brought by her former partner, Kristina S., and thereby confirmed the decision last year by California's First District Court of Appeal in favor of Charisma.

The women had lived together as registered domestic partners in California for five years when they decided to have a child. Kristina gave birth to Amalia through artificial insemination in April 2003. Charisma was present at the birth and the women gave the child both of their last names. Kristina returned to work after six weeks and Charisma cared full-time for the child until Kristina broke off the domestic partnership and moved away with Amalia in July 2003.