A U.S. appeals court has ruled California’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. California outlawed same-sex marriage in 2008, when voters passed the ban known as Proposition 8. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel struck down the ban in a two-to-one decision. Writing for the majority, Judge Stephen Reinhardt stated: “Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationship and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.” Outside the courtroom, co-plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier hailed the ruling.

Kris Perry: “We can see a place where freedom and respect come more easily and where protection from harm is what our government does for us and not to us.”

Sandy Stier: “Today our court sends a powerful message to us and to our children and our children’s children, and that is that we are all equal, we all deserve the same rights, and we all matter.”

The ruling overturning Proposition 8 will not take effect for another two weeks. The case is expected to ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court.