Judge Walker ordered the stay on same-sex marriages to be lifted on August 18th. Could an appeals court hear the case before then?

A federal judge Thursday refused to permanently stay his ruling overturning Proposition 8′s ban of gay marriage but extended a temporary hold to give supporters time to appeal the historic ruling.

Judge Walker will issue his decision to stay the Prop. 8 ruling pending an appeal or to allow same sex couples to wed in California most likely starting today.

Same sex civil unions are not recognized in Costa Rica but yesterday a small victory was gained when the top court rejected a referendum that would bring the issue to a public vote.

West Hollywood city clerk Tom West tells The Advocate that on Tuesday, members of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office will travel to West Hollywood to deputize the city’s council members so that they can officiate same-sex marriages.

Ted Olson, the conservative former Bush administration appointee, crossed the aisle to become one of the lead attorneys championing the fight for gay marriage in the recent Prop. 8 case. Watch his interview with Chris Wallace.