Becky Garrison:  In the battle for marriage equality, a federal appeals court and the Washington State legislature delivered both a love letter for same-sex couples and a Valentine’s Day massacre on society, depending on one’s interpretation of civil liberties and the institution of marriage.

On February 7, 2012, the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared California’s Proposition 8, a ban on same-sex marriage, to be unconstitutional. By a 2-1 decision, the three-judge panel affirmed the lower court judge’s 2010 ruling that Prop. 8 was indeed a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians. (This timeline charts the legal briefs and hearings that transpired since 2008 when Prop 8 went into effect.)

However, the same-sex ban on marriage in California will remain in effect while ProtectMarriage, the group that sponsored Proposition 8, appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.The day after the California ruling, the Washington State House followed the bipartisan lead of their counterparts by passing Senate Bill 6239, which legalized same-sex marriage.”With today’s vote, we tell the nation that Washington State will no longer deny our citizens the opportunity to marry the person they love,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat who signed the bill.Same-sex couples can be legally wed in June when the current legislative session ends unless their opponents, such as the National Organization for Marriage, can gather the 120,577 signatures needed by June 6 to put a referendum on the November 2012 ballot.