california court struck down that state's proposition eight ban on gay marriage as being a violation of the california constitution to one while ruling of the u.s. ninth circuit court of appeals judge stephen ryan our vote for the majority proposition eight serves no purpose and has no effect other than to lessen the status and dignity of gays and lesbians in california and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite sex couples so the movement for equal to achieve equal rights for gays and lesbians is taking off but not everybody is on board joining me now is maggie gallagher is the co-founder of the national organization for marriage one of the leading groups the nation working to ensure a marriage remains exclusively between a man and a woman in those remaining states that don't yet recognize gay marriage you're welcome thank you we're on the cusp touche and does it specifically say that the right to marry is what is even there much less unique to a man and a woman well it doesn't say there's any right to marry that was a supreme court interpretation that some things are fundamental i mean even prior to the constitution and th

u.s. ninth circuit court of appeal will issue a ruling today on the constitutionality of proposition 8. proposition 8 defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. it was approved by california voters in november of 2008. prop 8 came after the california supreme court ruled in may have 2008 that the state's constitution prohibited california from discriminating against same-sex couples in marriage laws. now, prop 8 was found to be unconstitutional by a federal district court judge in august of 2010. judge vaughn walker, pro ..ments say should have recused him -- proponents say he should have recused himself because he is gay in a long-standing relationship with another man. there are arguments on both sides. >> just remains to be seen on what they rule the nature of the ruling, and then what options are available to each party from that point forward. >> it still could be a waiting game and for same-sex couples who want to plan their wedding day this has been a long wait to be able to finally get there happily ever after. >> reporter: today's ruling does not mean that this

appeals court ruled that prop 8 was unconstitutional. >> that was on yesterday's "ellen" show. everybody applauding the decision there by the u.s. ninth circuit court of appeals that found the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. now all sides agree, there will be more legal appeals ahead. possibly before the u.s. supreme court. now, ellen has a lot more to say about the court decision. you can see her entire monologue on the ellen degeneres show at 4:00 here on nbc bay area. >>> a tech company has released a list of new social networking terms every parent needs to know. social shield says kids are constantly coming up with new ways to communicate in ways adults would not understand. it has identified several serious red flags. sexual terms include d-46, which means down for sex. and gnoc, meaning get naked on cam. depression signs include ihml, which means i hate my life. cyber bullying terms like gky for go kill yourself. or 182 meaning i hate you. signs of drugs or drinking like craft, meaning can't remember. an fing thing or a drinking injury. experts say the best thing you can do is certainly talk to your kids. >>> w-o-w, wow. a big shake

of love. >> in a 2-1 decision the ninth u.s. circuit court of appeals upheld a ruling that proposition 8 violates of civil rights of gay and lesbian couples. >> we feel vindicated. >> plaintiffs filed the lawsuit to fight the ban on same sex marriage. >>> there's nothing more important than moving ahead, getting closure, getting rid of prop 8 and rid of discrimination and being able to get married. >>> during the four-month period they were legal in 2008 an estimated 18,000 couples tied the knot. but voters put a stop to same sex weddings when they backed proposition 8. >> we'll appeal to the supreme court. >> the legal fight is far from over. he leads the project marriage coalition. >> we are simply protecting the institution of marriage and its title and definition as between a man and woman. >> for now, it remains on hold in california until the legal battle plays out. edward lawrence for cbs news, los angeles. >>> coming up, remembering the last hero from world war i. plus, it's the latest thing to come out of vending a machine. emergency contracept

. >>> not satisfied with three judges, supporters of prop 8 will ask the entire ninth u.s. circuit court of appeals, all 11 judges, to reverse the ruling that the voter-approved prop 8 is in fact unconstitutional. the move means same-sex marriage will remain on hold until the panel accepts or rejects the group's petition. two weeks ago a three-judge panel struck down the voter-approved prop 8 initiative. >>> a b.a.r.t. police officer who shot and killed a knife-wielding homeless man on a barts pl b.a.r.t. platform will not face charges. they say the transit officer acted lawfully and in self-defense when he shot charles hill last july. a civil case is still moving forward against the officer. >>> 4: 5 right now. palo alto's historic post office could keep its city ties. last night the city council voted unanimously to investigate buying the 80-year-old building. the u.s. postal service wants to sell it, and others, as part of a money-saving consolidation plan. city staffers will look into what that property is worth and what it could be used for. it is expected to be put up for sale in may. >>> it

of those cases. >>> this morning the ninth u.s. circuit court of appeals will hear yet another legal challenge to california's ban on affirmative action. they filed a lawsuit specifically targeting the uc system. they want propped to overturned. it's contributing to a dramatic drop in the number of minorities on campus. the court rejected a similar challenge in 1997. students say they will rally in san francisco before this mornings 9:00 a.m. hearing. >>> this morning president obama unvails his budget for 2013 in an appearance at a community college in northern virginia. now one proposal in the president's budget calls for community colleges and businesses to work together to train two million students in industries that are hiring right now. coming up at 6:15 the part of the president's budget that republicans are already vowing to fight. >>> now the president will be in the bay area on thursday. he's appearing at two fundraisers in san francisco. the first is a $35,000 a plate dinner for 60 guests at the home of novelist robert mailer anderson. after th

a few hours we're expecting a ruling on video recordings of a trial on california's same-sex marriage ban. the ninth u.s. circuit court of appeals in san francisco plans to file its decision this morning on the releasing of the recordings that are keeping them sealed. judge vaughn walker had staff members record the proceedings with the caveat that the footage would be used only by him to help him reach a verdict. media organizations argued that the video should be made public. >>> state of washington meanwhile is a step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage after state senators approved the bill there. the measure now heads to the house which is expected to be approved. governor chris gregoire is expected to sign it into law. this would make washington the 7th state in the union to allow gay couples to marry. opponents promise to fight the new law with a voter referendum. >>> we got lawrence juice because he is trying to compete with punxsutawney phil. he's losing the battle. >> so far. he is saying six more weeks of winter? >> that's what we hear. >> unfortunately i'm agreeing with him. so -- >> maybe even longer. i'd like to

there are no reports of bodies found at this point and it is still not clear what caused that accident. >>> a key ruling this morning. the ninth u.s. circuit court of appeals here in san francisco plans to file a decision on releasing video recordings of the prop 8 trial and may decide to keep them sealed. judge vaughn walker had staffed members record the proceedings. he said the footage would only be used to help him reach a verdict. media organizations asked that the video be made public. >>> newt gingrich's presidential campaign may get some help today a couple of days after a poor showing in florida's republican primary. today he is expected to get the endorsement of celebrity billionaire donald trump on the left. you might remember that trump toyed with the idea of running himself for a while last year. he cannot hinting toward it. well -- he kept hinting toward it. gingrich and others are campaigning in nevada. the caucuses are two days away. >>> you know what happens in 16 days? >> what happens in 16 days? >> we have baseball to talk about! as and giants pitchers and catches all report. >> i was never going to get that right. >> i know. [ laughter

the ninth circuit court of appeals says california's proposition 8 violates the u.s. constitution. that measure banned same-sex marriage in the state. today's decision is a milestone in the gay rights movement. this comes on the heels of a long, often muddled legal battle. that began after the ban went into effect back in 2008. the court's decision today upholds an earlier federal ruling in 2010 that declared proposition 8 unconstitutional. but this fate is far from over. many believe the next stop could be the u.s. supreme court. cnn's senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin joins me now from new york. are you surprised by today's decision? >> well, i'm not surprised by the result. given the background of the two judges in the majority, given the way the oral argument went, it is not a surprise that they struck down proposition 8. the way they did it is somewhat surprising, and, frankly, a little confusing. >> what about the supreme court? >> i think the way they decided this case makes a trip to the united states supreme court less likely. the two judges in the majority very much lim

supporters of the same-sex marriage ban can either appeal to a larger ninth circuit court of appeals panel or directly to the u.s. supreme court. this is the oral argument that took place before the ninth circuit in had december 2010. it's about an hour and 20 minutes. >> good morning again, ladies and gentlemen. we'll proceed to the second half of this consolidated proceeding. perry versus hollings worth, perry and city of san francisco versus hollingsworth. good morning, mr. cooper. >> good morning, your honor. the people of california and americans tlouhroughout the couy are engaged in an earnest and profound debate about the definition of marriage. the issue is a momentous one, for it goes to the nature of a ubiquitous institution that is fundamental to the very existence and survival of the human race. so this court is presented with, in our submission, this fundamental question. it is whether the definition of marriage, that momentous issue, is one for the people themselves to resolve through the democratic process as they did in enacting proposition 8, or whether our current institution takes that issue e

of california. >> so jeff, is today's ruling by the ninth u.s. circuit court of appeals last word on whether gays will be able to marry in the state of california? >> probably not. there are a lot of legal mac nations left to spin. this is a three-judge panel of the ninth circuit. the losing side, whichever side it is, will answer a choice -- will they appeal this to the full ninth circuit, a bigger group of judges, or will they go to the united states supreme court? the united states supreme court has never ruled on whether there's a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. if this case goes to the supreme court, we'll see whether it does, it will be certainly one of the biggest dmasz many years. -- cases in many years. and that's something to look at, listen to, the losing side after today's decision about how they plan to handle this. >> jeff, being somebody who follows the supreme court for years and years and years, do you believe that this is the kind of case that will go to the supreme court ultimately? >> i don't think this case will go to the supreme court. th

u.s. supreme court. they plan to appeal yesterday's ruling that says prop 8 is unconstitutional. the ninth circuit court of appeals in san francisco ruled 2-1 that the voter-approved initiative served no purpose other than to, quote, lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians. one legal expert says if it goes to the supreme court, justices will allow gay marriage. >> this is an issue whose time has come. the cultural understanding of the issue is really advanced. i think it's 5-4 in favor of same-sex marriage. and i think it could even be 6- 3 or 7-2. >> many people in the bay area back yesterday's court decision. our exclusive eyewitness news poll of 500 adults found 61% agree with the ruling and 75% say same-sex couples should be able to share in the legal benefits of marriage. >>> a man accused of shooting a federal agent in newark is going to come tomorrow afternoon. 61-year-old eye doctor dennis bagwell from piedmont is being held without bail this morning arrested in union city about five hours after the shooting. it happened outside the agent's home early yesterday morning. >> it appea

u.s. shake-out, the largest ever earthquake drill takes place marking the 200th anniversary of an earthquake that decimated the new madrid seismic zone. >>> in california, the ninth circuit court of appeals will issue its decision on proposition eight, an amendment passed by voters in 2008 banning gay marriage. regardless of the ruling, their decision will likely be appealed to the u.s. supreme court. >>> and country singer garth brooks turns 50. >>> all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments and those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." >>> and finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. actor ryan reynolds sits down with matt lauer to talk about his upcoming spy thriller "safe house." and country singer dierks bentley performs live with songs from his new album "home." >>> and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

u.s. supreme court. they plan to appeal yesterday's ruling that says prop 8 is unconstitutional. the ninth circuit court ofppeals here in san francisco ruled 2-1 that the voter- approved initiative served another purpose other than to, quote, lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians. one legal expert says if it goes to the supreme court, justices will allow gay marriage. >> this is an issue whose time has come. the cultural understanding of the issue is really advanced. i think it's 5-4 in favor of same-sex marriage. and i think it could even be 6- 3 or 7-2. >> many people here in the bay area back the court's decision. our exclusive eyewitness news poll of 500 adults found 61% agree with the ruling and 57% say they should be able to share the legal benefits of marriage. >>> state lawmakers are taking up a new plan to save some big bucks for college students. assembly speaker john perez calls it the middle class scholarship. the plan slashes student tuition fees by two-thirds. and it would be funded by eliminating a 2009 corporate tax break. >>> the state would pay about $1 billion for that

have two weeks to appeal today's ruling to the full ninth circuit or more likely they can appeal directly to the u.s. supreme court. they have three months to do that. until then no more ofsex marriages are on hold at least until then. and probably until the supreme court decides this case. >> it's probably a year or two years away until we definitively know whether there'll be same-sex marriage in california. >> reporter: both sides think the nation's highest court will decide this case, each side saying in its favor. >> this is a case that has we feel extremely strong that's being uphold in the supreme court. >> reinhardt is the most liberal and most overturned judge on the federal bench. >> reporter: legal analysts told us today's decision is narrow. based on california's ban not the bigger debate. california is the only state to grant gay's the right to marry and then rescind it. >> i think they are going to affirm this ninth circuit ruling. >>> that's because today's ruling heavily sites opinion by kennedy. the needed swing vote on a divided supreme court. rita williams, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> and stay with ktv ktvu for continuing coverage. when today's ruling is

have two weeks to appeal today's ruling to the full ninth circuit or more likely they can appeal directly to the u.s. supreme court. they have three months to do that. until then no more ofame-sex marriages are on hold at least until then. and probably until the supreme court decides this case. >> it's probably a year or two years away until we definitively know whether there'll be same-sex marriage in california. >> reporter: both sides think the nation's highest court will decide this case, each side saying in its favor. >> this is a case that has we feel extremely strong that's being uphold in the supreme court. >> reinhardt is the most liberal and most overturned judge on the federal bench. >> reporter: legal analysts told us today's decision is narrow. based on california's ban not the bigger debate. california is the only state to grant gay's the right to marry and then rescind it. >> i think they are going to affirm this ninth circuit ruling. >>> that's because today's ruling heavily sites opinion by kennedy. the needed swing vote on a divided supreme court. rita williams, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> and stay with ktv ktvu for continuing coverage. when today's ruling

a year later the ninth circuit court of appeals uphold the measure as constitutional after a legal challenge. in 2003 in a completely different case the u.se court declared it's okay for law schools to consider race in admissions. in light of that supreme court ruling some other similar court cases in michigan and some new data in uc admissions over the last ten years the opponentsup prop 209 renewed their challenge to this proposition at legal challenge begins later this morning and again as we showed you a short time ago a group of 30 students that are holding a rally that should stawrt any minute now to oppose proposition 209. live in berkeley, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> 8:05, lieutenant governor gavin newsome is criticizing jerry brown's proposed cuts to higher edge ctionz. called proposed changes short sighted. in a letter he sent to a state committee last week. newsome specifically criticized the governor's proposal to raise gpa requirements for cal grant applicants and eliminate two loan programs. newsome says that will be a big set back for disadvantaged students. he says resources should be found elsewhere to avoid the cuts. >>> se

appeals. the other side which is the backers of prop 8 could either appeal to the full ninth circuit or try going to the u.s. supreme courthey would try it on go to the full ninth circuit and hope to get a more favorable ruling. so wouldn't change anything immediately, but based on how it's written, it will be very important in terms of teeing the issue up potentially for the supreme court or maybe not. >> so you do expect the full ninth circuit to hear this first before it gets to the supreme court? >> this is a lot of guesswork here. but if as is widely expected the court today strikes down prop8,, that is to say degrees with the trial judge to said it's unconstitutional, it seams a more logical step for the backers of prop 8 would be to go to the full ninth circuit and hope they can get a more favorable ruling or at least a split that would show the supreme court that there is some disagreement here before they then try to get to the supreme court. but no matter what happens here, i think we can assume that will would not make to the supreme court this this year, the court has already filled its calendar. so the earlie

ninth circuit court of appeals. we will have to wait in see what happens. the other side has the opportunity to seek a hearing or to try and competition for the u.s. supreme court. for now, the state stays in place and we will take it one step at a time and to monitor as the legal proceedings developed. i will be in close contact with the mayor if that should change. he has assured me that the city mechanisms and machinery stand ready to do whatever it can to expedite marriages in the event that it was to be something that we could do. right now, we are taking it one step at a time. [inaudible] >> i have instructed the county clerk to immediately communicate with all of the county clerk's across the state to make sure we are using the same forms. we want the dignity to be reflected in every jurisdiction of this state when the decision is handed down. and that has also been the wonderful part of it. we treated everyone with a the same dignity, that is what people wanted. >> [inaudible] >> the earliest that they could issue them in his 21 days. and we will monitor closely the next three weeks to see how things work. >> the proponents could petition

00, san francisco's ninth circuit court of appeals is taking on the obama administration over immigration with a ruling that gives a group of californians more time to stay in the u.s. with their own families. a three judge panel from the appeals court temporarily halted the deportation of seven undocumented immigrants and with their ruling gave the government until march 19th to explain if those immigrants can stay under a new enforcement policy. back in june, u.s. immigration and customs said authorities would stop detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants who have close family and community ties and no criminal record. david fits that category and has two children born here in the u.s. >> i feel pretty good. i feel more confident. i can tell myself that i can work more relaxing about the news. hopefully it turns in a good way. >> it's a complicated situation for david who lost his case in immigration court before appealing to the ninth certificate. >>> a two-year sting by the fbi and continue 27 people are behind bars. the fbi says they've crippled a major drug ring based in menlo park and east palo alto. they're still looking for more suspects. these are

marriage sponsored proposition 8 and considering whether to appeal to a fuller panel of the ninth circuit or go right to the u.s. supreme court>> shepard: what could happen in the top court? what are the possibilities here, claudia. >> the ninth circuit's opinion was specifically tailored to california and some legal analysts say it was written that way to lessen the chance that the u.s. supreme court will take the case. shepard, we should mention that proposition 8 remains in effect here in california with gay marriages on hold while the legal process continues. >> shepard: claudia cowan in san francisco this afternoon. claudia, thanks very much. it's caucus night in america again. of course, figuring out who won the first two caucuses was not very easy. is it time to ditch the whole system? we will report, you decide. plus, president obama once called the flood of super pac money a threat to our democracy. now, more of that cash may be coming his way. some republicans are calling it a flip flop. tonight, the white house responds and there they are. the super bowl champion new york football giants taking another trip along a

u.s. because she is on the government's no- fly list. a lower court threw out her lawsuit, claiming her constitutional rights were violated. but today, the ninth circuit court of appealsurned the decision. coming up later, a new program launched at sfo, looking at how frequent fliers can move through security more quickly. >> and today, newt gingrich ending a bus tour in ohio, coming in fourth in missouri and minnesota, finishing third in colorado. he is looking at other states, including ohio, today he told the factory workers in cleveland he wants to allow the manufacturers a tax write-off on all new equipment. >> we are always the most productive and creative. if we do it we can compete with china, germany, india and japan. >> aides say that along with ohio, the campaign is focusing on tennessee, oklahoma, michigan and arizona. >>> and santorum mixing religion and politics today, lashing out at the same-sex marriage, right here in california. he criticized san francisco's ninth circuit court of appeals and the ruling against california's ban on gay marriage. >> your belief of marriage between a man and woman is not rational, based on hate and being a bigot. that is

u.s. district judge struck down that marriage ban, and the federal court of appeals, the ninth circuit federal court of appeals, just agreed with that rule anything a 2-1 decision. when you say the ninth circuit, you're talking about, basically, a panel of three judges. it's a 2-1 ruling. we're going to have a live report on this, but you can expect that those who backed prop 8 are either going to ask for a review by the entire ninth circuit, all the judges -- which you can do -- and/or appeal up to the u.s. supreme court. more on that shortly. >>> well, we are closely watching a developing story involving the efforts to free 19 americans blocked from leaving egypt. up next, we will speak with a man who came close to being one of those hostages, and find out why he says he wants to go back and challenge egyptian leaders. does that seem like a good idea? >>> and did the army break the law when it told chaplains to be quiet about the obama administration's new health care rule requiring catholic institutions to pay for birth control? we'll show you what happened and see why critics are so angry