Gay-Marriage Ban Returns to Court in California

California’s ban on gay marriage gets another day in court: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments related to August's ruling that Prop 8 is unconstitutional today, likely moving the issue closer to the Supreme Court, the Wall Street Journal reports. There won’t be new evidence or witnesses presented to a trio of judges, who will focus on legal issues involved—including whether backers of the ban have legal grounds to fight a lower court’s decision that called it unconstitutional.

The state of California and its attorney general opted not to defend the ban, prompting the question of whether supporters can legally fight for it. Lawyers for Prop 8 plan to argue that it was a "rational public policy choice"; lawyers against it say it has “singled out one class of persons and has taken away a constitutional right from only that class.”