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Actress Amber Heard holds a protest sign during a same-sex marriage demonstration in Los Angeles, California.

A hearing of Perry v. Schwarzenegger – the lawsuit challenging California’s Proposition 8 – convenes this morning in San Francisco. California voters approved Prop 8, which bans same-sex couples from getting married, in November 2008. But its opponents filed a federal lawsuit over the constitutionality of the measure. This summer, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that Prop 8 infringes on equal protection rights. That decision was stayed, pending an appeal by Prop 8’s sponsors. Today’s hearing before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will be decided by a three-judge panel. What are the issues and arguments this time around? Will gay marriage be legal again in California? Or is this just a pit stop on the way to the U.S. Supreme Court?

Guests:

Julie Small, KPCC's State Capital Reporter

Peter Renn, Staff Attorney, LAMBDA Legal

Edward Whelan, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center; Former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

Frank Stoltze, KPCC reporter who is monitoring the Prop 8 hearing