>> shepard: the lawyers on either side of california's same sex marriage debate squaring off in a federal appeals court today. you'll remember earlier this year a federal judge ruled that the state's voter approved proposition 8 violates the united states constitution. specifically the equal protection clause because it defines a marriage as a union between a man and a woman. well, prop 8 supporters have since appealed that ruling. and today the appeals court heard arguments on whether the same sex marriage ban itself ghits amounts to discrimination and whether supporters of the ban even have the legal standing to apeel. trace gallagher with the news. is he live in our los angeles newsroom this afternoon and, trace, if those against gay marriage don't have the right to appeal, that ends this case, right? >> it does, shep, because, remember, those who filed this appeal one was a deputy court clerk in imperial county east of san diego along with the