Free Republic

In the 1500s, a pestering theologian instituted something called the Marriage Ordinance in Geneva, which made "state registration and church consecration" a dual requirement of matrimony. We have yet to get over this mistake. But isn't it about time we freed marriage from the state? Imagine if government had no interest in the definition of marriage. Individuals could commit to each other, head to the local priest or rabbi or shaman -- or no one at all -- and enter into contractual agreements, call their blissful union whatever they felt it should be called and go about the business of...

It's safe to assume that Judge Vaughn Walker voted against Proposition 8 banning gay marriage in California back in 2008. Throughout the trial on the measure in his courtroom, he proved himself as zealously in favor of gay marriage -- if not more so -- than the plaintiffs petitioning to have it declared unconstitutional. If he voted "no" a couple of years ago, Judge Walker wasn't alone. More than 6.4 million Californians voted against Proposition 8. At 48 percent, that was almost enough to constitute a majority. But Judge Walker presumably got two bites at the apple: First in the...

The federal judge who overturned California's same-sex marriage ban this week is a Republican who once came under fire for his membership to a powerful all-male club that had only recently allowed blacks to join. But after Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker struck down the voter-approved ban known as Proposition 8, he became something else in the minds of some: a gay activist. Rumors have circulated for months that Walker is gay, fueled by the blogosphere and a San Francisco Chronicle column that stated his sexual orientation was an "open secret" in legal and gay activism circles. Walker himself hasn't...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The federal judge who overturned California's same-sex marriage ban this week is a Republican who once came under fire for his membership to a powerful all-male club that had only recently allowed blacks to join. But after Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker struck down the voter-approved ban known as Proposition 8, he became something else in the minds of some: a gay activist.....

Journalism: Funny how practically no one knew that Judge Vaughn Walker was openly homosexual before his seismic ruling Wednesday. Why was such an obvious predisposition worth so little media attention? All federal judges must swear they "will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me ... so help me God." But can a judge given the opportunity to knock down a law that declared homosexual marriages invalid be impartial when he himself is openly homosexual? That question should have been part of the public discourse over the high-profile trial in U.S. District Court in San Francisco...

Despite the landmark ruling striking down California's ban on same sex marriage, nothing has really changed. Gay and lesbian couples still can't get married, because Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issued a temporary stay on his decision. Prop. 8 is still in effect while he considers whether his order should be suspended pending an appeal. Lawyers on both sides are presenting arguments either in favor of, or opposed to, allowing gay weddings to resume. Tomorrow, Walker is expected to to rule on this very critical question of if, and when, the state will stop enforcing the 2008 voter-approved ban...

The Republican mayor of San Diego, who defied elements in his party by declaring in 2007 that he supports same-sex marriage, said he is "absolutely thrilled" by the court ruling striking down Proposition 8, the voter-approved measure that banned same-sex marriages. "I think Judge Walker did a great job of listening to the arguments and making the right decision," said Mayor Jerry Sanders, just minutes before attending a celebratory rally at San Diego's Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transsexual Community Center. Sanders said he would like San Diego County to resume issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples but he understands the need to...

Federal Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that California's Prop 8, which defined marriage as being the union between a man and a woman, as being unconstitutional. This judge said that it violated the due process and equal protection rights of two homosexual couples who married. Would this judge say that consenting adult polygamists due process and equal protection rights are being violated right now? Wouldn't it be hypocritical of this judge to apply this ruling to consenting adult homosexuals, but not consenting adult polygamists? While some marriages have involved people who are not of consenting age, there are many, many people...

Within moments of a federal judge striking down California's marriage ban Wednesday, religious conservatives vowed to fight the ruling until the Supreme Court, saying the decision threatens gay marriage bans nationwide. "This lawsuit, should it be upheld on appeal and in the Supreme Court, would become the 'Roe v. Wade' of same-sex 'marriage,' " said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, referring to the 1973 decision that legalized abortion. Perkins said the ruling, which found California's gay marriage ban unconstitutional, would overturn marriage bans adopted by dozens of states if it is upheld.

Any minute now we will hear the result of another lawsuit about same-sex marriage. This month a federal judge in Massachusetts threw out a Congressional law which defined marriage as the union of man and woman. Soon a federal judge in California is going to rule in a lawsuit challenging “Proposition 8," the referendum by which California’s voters kept the traditional meaning of marriage in their law. If the pending ruling throws out Prop. 8 – as it very likely will – it would be the biggest victory so far for those promoting same-sex marriage in the United States. These...

SAN FRANCISCO - Charles Cooper, the attorney defending a federal challenge to Proposition 8, came to San Francisco to deliver his closing argument on same-sex marriage Wednesday. But Chief Judge Vaughn Walker made it feel much more like a cross-examination. Walker closely questioned Cooper about his trial presentation, including why his side called only one witness to testify about the institution of marriage. Where Cooper's counterpart Theodore Olson of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher was able to deploy lofty rhetoric with less interruption, Cooper was stuck parrying Walker for about two hours. At one point, Walker asked Cooper to recount the...

SNIPPET: "A federal judge in California has ruled that the Bush Administration illegally wiretapped the U.S. branch of the Saudi Arabian-based charity al Haramain Islamic Foundation. While ground breaking in its assessment of the controversial Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP), Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling is perhaps more important in that it may dismantle a five-year investigation into al Haramain's financial support for terrorist organizations. Al Haramain is active in more than 50 countries. The U.S. branch registered as a non-profit charity in Oregon in 1999.While it claims to "stand against terrorism, injustice, or subversive activities in any form, and [ ]...

In a story last Sunday the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Proposition 8 judge Vaughn Walker is gay and called his orientation, "The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage." We have no idea whether the report is true or not. But we do know one really big important fact about Judge Walker: He's been an amazingly biased and one-sided force throughout this trial, far more akin to an activist than a neutral referee. That's no secret at all. Protect Marriage, the defendants in this case, are effectively being held hostage by Judge Walker and cannot really...

By Peter J. Smith SAN FRANCISCO, February 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In what he describes as “an open secret,” a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle says that the federal judge presiding over the case against California's Proposition 8 identifies as a homosexual. The revelation now raises questions over whether Chief Justice Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court for California's Northern District should recuse himself in the federal trial against Prop. 8, California’s ban on homosexual “marriage.” Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross write: “Many gay politicians in San Francisco and lawyers who have had dealings with Walker say...

SAN FRANCISCO - The appointment of Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Richard Walker to the bench was held up for two years during the late 1980s in part because he had angered gay rights activists.

The lede from an article out Sunday in the SF Chronicle reads as follows: The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay. Interesting. So, what to make of this fact? According to the article, folks aren’t making much of it. Andy Pugno, general counsel for the group that sponsored the Prop. 8 campaign, rebuffed claims that his group might bring it up if Walker ultimately rules against them. “We are not going to...

The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay. Many gay politicians in San Francisco and lawyers who have had dealings with Walker say the 65-year-old jurist, appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1989, has never taken pains to disguise - or advertise - his orientation. They also don't believe it will influence how he rules on the case he's now hearing - whether Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure...

The trial on the federal constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ban, has been in many respects a tale of two trials. The question is, which trial was U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker watching? To many observers, the anti-Proposition 8 side appears to have scored all the points. Attorneys David Boies and Theodore Olson spent two weeks attempting to discredit the law, calling dozens of witnesses who gave dramatic and emotional testimony that banning same-sex marriage harms gay couples, their children and even society. But defenders of Proposition 8 say they're missing the point. California voters made...

It was apparently the most open secret of the Prop 8 trial in San Francisco. The presiding judge, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is gay The San Francisco Chronicle's SFGate has the full report, and the article cites many sources who say they do not expect his sexual orientation to influence his opinion. Walker was appointed by George H.W. Bush in 1989 and has never "taken paints to disguise -- or advertise -- his orientation," the article said. The judge in this landmark gay rights litigation being gay is quite ironic, but it isn't the first eye-brow raising trial...