Gay Marriage on Trial in San Francisco

The court has agreed to allow cameras in the proceedings, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, for the first time since this highly charged issue made its way to the courtroom earlier this year.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. California time and will last an hour. This article will have a live stream of the proceedings gavel to gavel on Monday.

Three randomly chosen federal appeals court judges will be asked their opinion on U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that struck down the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. Proposition 8 was enacted as an amendment to the California Constitution and states that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid  or recognized in California."

Two same-sex couples sued to challenge the proposition. In August, Walker agreed with them and said it violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of due process and equal treatment. Lisa Leff with the Associated Press put Vaughn's decision this way: If the courtroom had been a boxing ring, the referee would have called a knockout.