Great, great news!

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

In a blistering repudiation of California's ban on same-sex marriage, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that the right to wed one's chosen partner applies equally to all Californians and that the case for excluding gays and lesbians was based ultimately, and unconstitutionally, on "moral disapproval."

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said a 12-day trial in his San Francisco courtroom - the first on the issue in any federal court - produced "overwhelming evidence" that denying marital rights to same-sex couples violates their constitutional right to equality and does not benefit the institution of marriage.

Testimony from a parade of scholars and researchers demonstrated that "as partners, parents and citizens, opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples are equal," Walker, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, said in a 136-page decision.

He said Proposition 8, the November 2008 initiative that amended the state Constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, "prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis."

Walker said Prop. 8's sponsors presented a meager case in defense of the measure and that their principal witness, who attested to the harmful effects of same-sex marriage, lacked credentials and credibility