Lawyer Gathers Compelling Support Against Prop. 8

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KCBS)- A lawyer for two couples challenging California's gay-marriage ban told a federal judge in San Francisco this week that two rulings by another U.S. judge in Boston on Thursday provide "compelling support" for their case.

Attorney Theodore Olson made the argument in a letter to U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker.

Walker is presiding over the trial testing the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

The Boston ruling struck down a provision of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act that denied federal benefits to same-sex married couples.

Walker conducted the Prop 8 trial in January, heard closing arguments last month, and is currently considering a decision.