California Supreme Court to hear arguments on Proposition 8 today

The California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the amendment that banned same-sex marriage. The NBC affiliate in Los Angeles will carry the hearing live beginning at 9 a.m. PST. The hearing can also be watched online at www.calchannel.com. Last May, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of legalized same-sex marriage. However, California voters approved Proposition 8 with 52 percent of the vote as an amendment to the state constitution last November. The ban has led to several legal challenges to overturn the vote. After hearing the arguments, the court will have 90 days to rule on overturning the ban. Thousands of gay right activists marched Wednesday from San Francisco's Castro District to the courthouse where the Supreme Court justices will hear the arguments. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Stuart Milk, nephew of murdered gay rights activist and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, was among them.

"Taking away a civil right we had is a violent act," Milk told the crowd at the start of the march. "As Harvey would say, when you let the majority deprive the minority of their civil rights, you start a shopping list. Who is next?"

Along with the constitutionality of the ban, the court must decide the fate of 18,000 same-sex marriages that were performed in the state after the court legalized same sex marriages in May, according to the Chronicle. Yuri Barna, the 11-year-old son of Petey Barna of San Francisco whose marriage is up in the air, attended the march, and joked: "I'm here to keep my mom's marriage together." nbclosangeles.com/live