US Supreme Court justice denies bid to stop gay marriages

Proposition 8 supporters sought to overrule order lifting injunction barring same-sex unions

US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy today denied a bid to stop gay marriages in California, one day after opponents of same-sex unions petitioned the high court to re-impose the state's ban, a court spokeswoman said.

Justice Kennedy denied the application verbally, spokeswoman Kathy Arberg told Reuters.

Supporters of the gay marriage ban known as Proposition 8, which California voters approved in 2008, asked the high court to overrule a Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals order that lifted an injunction barring same-sex unions.

Reuters