In "Hernandez v. Robles" (2006), the majority opinion of the New York Court of Appeals—that state's highest court—declined to rely on the "Loving" case when deciding whether a right to same-sex marriage existed, holding that "the historical background of "Loving" is different from the history underlying this case." In the 2010 federal district court decision in "Perry v. Schwarzenegger", overturning California's Proposition 8 which restricted marriage to opposite-sex couples, Judge Vaughn R. Walker cited "Loving v. Virginia" to conclude that "the right to marry protects an individual's choice of marital partner regardless of gender". On narrower grounds, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.