U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker will rule on Thursday on whether or not he will continue a stay on his Proposition 8 ruling. That decision found the anti-gay marriage ballot measure to be unconstitutional.

If Walker decides to lift the stay, gay and lesbian couples in California could possibly start to marry each other immediately.

According to the Associated Press, Walker will hand down the decision by 12 noon tomorrow. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown filed briefs last week asking the judge to lift the stay.

Los Angeles County and West Hollywood officials have been preparing for a decision on the stay. If lifted, they say they are ready to begin marrying gay couples the minute the decision is announced.

In the current issue of L.A. Weekly, a news story titled “Young Gay Dreams of Matrimony” examines why twenty-something gays view Proposition 8's demise as a barometer of equality rather than simply gaining the right to marry.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.

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