Washington, Feb 7 (EFE).- The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that California's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

A panel of three judges ruled 2-1 that a federal district judge correctly interpreted the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court precedent when ruling in 2010 that Proposition 8 was a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

Attorneys for Prop 8 supporters and the two couples who filed the suit to eliminate the ban said repeatedly that they are prepared to pursue the case as far as the Supreme Court.

The ban on same-sex marriage in California will remain in effect pending a final ruling in the matter.

"Although the Constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be desirable," Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the opinion, "it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different classes of people differently. There was no such reason that Proposition 8 could have been enacted."

The appellate panel also said that there was no evidence that District Judge Vaughn Walker, who rejected it at first, was partial and added that he should have communicated before making his decision known that he was homosexual and had been having a relationship for a long time with another man.

Supporters of Prop 8 had asked the 9th Circuit to set aside Walker's decision for constitutional reasons and because of the issue of the judge's personal life.

After Prop 8 was approved at the polls with 52.2 percent of the votes, those opposing it filed a complaint in August 2009 before a San Francisco federal court saying that it attacked constitutional rights.

The United States does not officially recognize homosexual marriages, although the governments of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia accept it as a valid and legal form of matrimony.