Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Appeals Expected After Overturning of California Gay Marriage Ban VOA News 05 August 2010 California protest - same sex-marriage Photo: AP Stuart Gaffney, center, holds up a sign while celebrating the decision in the United States District Court proceedings challenging Proposition 8 outside of the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco, 4 Aug 2010. Opponents of same-sex marriage in California say they are planning to appeal a U.S. federal judge's ruling overturning the state's ban on the unions. Judge Vaughn Walker struck down the ban Wednesday, saying the law offers no rational basis for outlawing same-sex marriage. In his 136-page decision, the San Francisco judge wrote that the ban prevents the state from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis. In November of 2008, California voters narrowly approved a measure known as Proposition 8, which defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman.  The measure was approved just months after California's Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages. Gay rights advocates said the ban violated the U.S. Constitution's provision on equal protection under the law. Legal experts say the California case could lead to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on whether it is constitutional to treat same-sex unions differently from those between a man and a woman. The court case, known as Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, was brought by two same-sex couples that were barred from marrying because of Proposition 8. Gay marriage laws have been approved in five states - Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont - as well as the District of Columbia. Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters. .