Prop 8 Unconstitutional: Mitt Romney, NOM React To Ruling While White House Offers No Comment (VIDEO)

Marriage equality advocates are hailing a federal appeals court's declaration of California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional as a historic moment -- but others are offering less praise for the decision.

As Towleroad is pointing out, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney offered no comment on the Prop 8 decision. “I don’t have a comment on litigation in general and in this litigation to which we are not a party," he said. "Beyond that, I can say that the President has long opposed, as you know, divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same-sex couples."

Others, such as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, offered harsher words for the decision. The Washington Post has his statement below:

Today, unelected judges cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage. This decision does not end this fight, and I expect it to go to the Supreme Court. That prospect underscores the vital importance of this election and the movement to preserve our values. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and, as president, I will protect traditional marriage and appoint judges who interpret the Constitution as it is written and not according to their own politics and prejudices.

National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown also sounded off on the ruling. "As sweeping and wrong-headed as this decision is, it nonetheless was as predictable as the outcome of a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition game," he said. "We have anticipated this outcome since the moment San Francisco Judge Vaughn Walker’s first hearing in the case. Now we have the field cleared to take this issue to the US Supreme Court, where we have every confidence we will prevail."

View a timeline of Prop 8 below: