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The big news on the culture-war front is a federal court's striking down of Proposition 8, California's constitutional amendment protecting marriage. In a two-to-one ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote, "The people may not employ the initiative power to single out a disfavored group for unequal treatment and strip them, without a legitimate justification, of a right as important as the right to marry." Now, I'm not sure why the judges mention a "disfavored group," as if singling out a "favored" one for unequal treatment would be okay. As far as I know, the...

Defenders of Marriage will Appeal Latest Decision Against Proposition 8 Alliance Defense Fund Defenders of marriage in California will appeal Tuesday’s ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that upheld a district judge’s decision against the state’s constitutional amendment protecting marriage. The ProtectMarriage.com legal defense team, including Alliance Defense Fund attorneys, expressed no surprise that the lawsuit over the amendment, which protects marriage as the union of one man and one woman, would progress beyond the three-judge 9th Circuit panel as has been long predicted by parties on both sides. ProtectMarriage.com is the banner organization for...

Is the pulpit brain-washing blacks against supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgendered (LGBT) people? It depends on who you ask. LGBT advocates have different perspectives on why blacks do not align themselves with gay rights causes. To varying degrees, many LGBT rights advocates say that the church is the singlemost influential factor in black opinion on homosexuality. Antonio David Garcia, executive director of Affirmations, a Detroit-area LGBT civil rights group, says what’s worse is that those opinions are often homophobic and go unchallenged. “Everyday we face religious bigotry [from the church],” Garcia says. “They’ve got to start questioning some of...

Pelosi Statement on CA Supreme Court’s Prop 8 Ruling November 17, 2011 Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after the California Supreme Court ruled that the proponents of Proposition 8 are entitled to defend it in court when the state refuses to do so. The case now returns to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals: “With today’s disappointing decision by the California Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will now likely proceed to the merits of the case against Proposition 8. The district court’s landmark decision in this case represented a...

The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday morning that proponents of Proposition 8 — the voter initiative in 2008 that amended the state constitution to say “only marriage between a man and a woman” is valid in California — have legal standing to defend the measure in court. That means the matter can proceed to the Ninth District Court of Appeals for a ruling on the merits of the measure. The legal question before the Supreme Court was procedural and unrelated to the substantive question of the constitutional validity of Prop. 8. It only assessed whether proponents of the measure can...

The latest chapter in the California Proposition 8 marriage saga involved a Motion to Vacate by marriage supporters on the grounds that Chief District Judge Vaughn Walker should have recused himself from the case.  Though Judge Walker's biased approach to the case has been well-documented (see The Prop. 8 Case Charade and Biased Judge on California's Proposition 8 Marriage Case), the motion was finally brought after Walker revealed upon his retirement that he was indeed a homosexual and that he had been in a 10-year homosexual relationship with another man.Most people can quickly see the conflict of interest in...

SAN FRANCISCO – Rumors swirled that the federal judge who had struck down California's same-sex marriage ban last summer was gay, but the lawyers charged with defending the measure remained silent on the subject. Their preferred strategy for getting the ruling overturned on appeal was to focus on the law, not a judge's personal life, they said. Eight months later, Proposition 8's proponents and their attorneys have taken a new position. They filed a motion Monday seeking to vacate Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's historic ruling, a move they said was prompted by the now-retired jurist's recent disclosure that...

The federal judge who struck down California's gay marriage ban has confirmed that he's gay. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker retired in February, several months after his landmark decision that's being challenged in an appeals court.

Just days after his inauguration, new Gov. Jerry Brown has a quick opportunity to dust off his once controversial judge-picking skills and name a justice to one of the most influential state Supreme Courts in the country. California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno, the sole Democrat and Latino on the state's high court, submitted his letter of resignation to Brown this week, informing the governor he would retire from the court on Feb. 28. Moreno's resignation is expected to place pressure on the governor to either replace him with another Latino, or choose an African-American justice on a court without...

In the debates over gay marriage, "hate" is the ultimate conversation-stopper. Some stories from recent months: A religion instructor at a midwestern state university explains in an e-mail to students the rational basis for Catholic teaching on homosexuality. He is denounced by a student for "hate speech" and is dismissed from his position. (He is later reinstated - for now.) At another midwestern state university, a department chairman demurs from a student organizer's request that his department promote an upcoming "LGBTQ" film festival on campus; he is denounced to his university's chancellor, who indicates that his e-mail to the student...

Fresno gay-rights activist Robin McGehee is going back to the White House -- but this time as an invited guest. McGehee was invited to watch President Barack Obama today sign a bill repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevents gays from serving openly in the military. She received the invitation Monday and was on a plane Tuesday morning, said GetEQUAL spokesman Brad Luna. GetEQUAL is a gay-rights organization co-founded by McGehee. In a brief telephone interview, McGehee said the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" is on par with the integration of blacks and whites in the military...

Canada has recognized same-sex "marriages" since 2005, and now apparently is preparing to take the next step in the "progressive" movement, with arguments scheduled in coming days before the equivalent of a state Supreme Court on a plan to repeal laws against polygamy and bigamy. The CBC has told the story of Zoe Duff, a director of the Canadian Polyamory Advocacy Association, who has two male common-law partners and believes Canada's polygamy laws need to be stricken because they don't permit her to live her chosen lifestyle. The situation involving the Vancouver Island woman is expected to be the subject...

Effective November 30, Kristina Schake will resign from her post on the American Foundation for Equal Rights Board of Directors. After that, she joins the East Wing of the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Communications Director to First Lady Michelle Obama. This adds not only another strong mind to the administration, but also another big gay rights supporter. Schake was chosen because of her background in kid’s health and obesity issues, but it’s her support for gay rights that’s receiving accolades from equality advocates. In fact, Schake is co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights,...

“Marriage is like the army,” actor James Garner once said. “Everyone complains, but you'd be surprised at the large number of people who re-enlist.” Garner himself never had to re-enlist; he just celebrated 54 years of his first “hitch” with wife, Lois. Their marriage has lasted an eternity by Hollywood standards, but like every other long and successful union, it’s testimony to something most people understand, intuitively: marriage is a good thing. It means something. That something clearly eludes a sizable, risible minority of the population in Garner’s own state of California, where too many of that minority cheered a...

Supporters of gay marriage have been celebrating the honeymoon of their recent victory over Proposition 8 in California. In what they believe is a move towards greater freedom and liberty, Judge Vaughn Walker repealed the California law banning same-sex marriage. But as with all marriages, the union between gay rights activists and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California brings with it unexpected baggage. In order to fully understand that issue, one must be familiar with the structure of government in the United States. Unfortunately, the liberal influence over education has stunted the intellectual growth of...

The Ninth Circuit has stayed Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling in the high-profile Constitutional challenge to California's same-sex marriage ban. The case is scheduled to be heard in early December. So hold the wedding bells. There is some good news, though, for the same-sex plaintiffs: The court warned in its order that it's considering dismissing the appeal on the grounds that the appelants -- who don't include the Governor or Attorney General -- lack standing. "In addition to any issues appellants wish to raise on appeal, appellants are directed to include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal...

Rush talks about Proposition 8 being Repealed. Liberals need not watch if you don't wanna commit suicide from hearing da truth by America's Truth Detector; the Doctor of Democracy; the Most Dangerous Man in America. Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5Part 6 - Rush talks to a Liberal callerPart 7

According to expert testimony before the House in 1963, the 26th of the “Current Communist Goals” was:26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.” That is the way Don Hank began his August 11th article in Laigle's Forum, "Is “Gay Marriage” a Historical Imperative?" The broad brush of intolerance and bigotry are being used to paint those who refuse to accept "gay marriage" as an acceptable legal "right." Proponents claim this has been going on throughout history and it is about time to end the repression and give these hapless, innocent people the legal equality they deserve.Is this...

Judge Vaughn Walker has lifted the stay on his Proposition 8 ruling, which deemed a ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional. Walker's ruling last week was ground breaking, but it still kept the ban on gay marriage intact, until Prop 8 was ruled on by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Walker has now removed the stay, and will allow for gays and lesbians to marry in the state of California. Walker said that he would lift the stay on August 18th. The LA Times reports that the temporary hold on gay marriage is to allow supporters of Prop 8...

“We the people – D’oh!” Or, democracy, shamocracy! Whatever happened to that quaint, old-fashioned arrangement favoured by Western democracies, whereby the electorate – in America solemnly personified as We The People – cast its majority vote for something and its will was respected and implemented? Today, that formerly sovereign will is simply overruled by the oligarchy of the liberal consensus whenever the popular vote collides with received progressive opinion. In Europe, it is done by requiring national electorates to vote again, whenever they have cast their suffrage in an unenlightened (ie anti-Eurofederalist) direction. In the United States, formerly the most...

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...

Same-Sex Marriage: A federal judge decides marriage is a constitutional right and overturns California's Proposition 8 forbidding such unions. The issue is headed to a Supreme Court that Elena Kagan will be sitting on. The imperial judiciary has struck again, with Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker striking down California's Proposition 8, passed in November 2008 with 52% of the vote, on the grounds that the voter-approved law was a violation of gay couples' civil rights. Walker's ruling follows a Massachusetts federal judge's ruling last month that the state's married gay couples, also established by judicial fiat, were being wrongly...

The recent decision by a California judge to strike down Proposition 8 is the definition of an activist liberal judicial system. Marriage HAS ALWAYS been between people of opposite genders until we decided to suddenly reinvent it in the last decade or so. ‘Tis a silly thing to pretend that defining marriage as between a man and a woman is suddenly ‘unconstitutional’. What hogwash, poppycock and sheer idiocy. The will, and common sense, of the people is now constantly overturned by liberal judges who now throw anything out that isn’t marching along with the “progressive” agenda. By this definition of...

Yes, yes, I know. I am most likely going to be blasted for riding the fence on this one. I am a conservative Republican. I believe in lower taxes, securing our borders, and protecting our country and our Constitutional rights. I support our troops and take pride in the foundation America was built. I own guns, and I know how to aim…accurately. I want our country to thrive, I want our economic hardships to cease. I want my kids to enjoy a solid future and not owe the government for the entirety of their lives. I want Reagan to be...

Here’s a quick overview of Judge Walker’s conclusions of law (from pages 109 to 135 of his wild opinion), with some interspersed commentary in brackets: 1. Proposition 8 violates the Due Process Clause by unconstitutionally burdening the exercise of the fundamental right to marry. “Marriage has retained certain characteristics throughout the history of the United States”: “two parties … give their free consent to form a relationship, which then forms the foundation of a household.” [Ah, yes, “parties.” “I now pronounce you party and party”—that sure captures what marriage has traditionally been.] “The spouses must consent to support each other...

Today, Judge Vaughn walker drove a stake into the heart of Prop 8. And then he pounded the stake with a sledge hammer. And then he jumped up and down on it. Victorious lawyers Ted Olson and David Bois summarized Walker's decision at a press conference held Wednesday afternoon by saying that Walker found marriage to be a fundamental right of citizenship, that depriving gays and lesbians the right to marriage harms them and their children, and that there is no redeeming social value -- no "state interest" -- in upholding Prop. 8. In the back of my head I...

A federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday overturned the state's voter-approved initiative banning same-sex marriages, in a landmark case that could force the U.S. Supreme Court eventually to decide if gays have a constitutional right to marry. District court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that 2008's Proposition 8 violated the constitutional guarantees to equal protection and due process because it singles out gays and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. "The evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same-sex couples," wrote Judge Walker in...

A lawyer for supporters of California's gay marriage ban argued Wednesday in a landmark federal trial that Proposition 8 was constitutional because limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples ensures children have the benefits of being raised by biological parents.

I’m late getting to this, but I had to take a look at some old posts and research a bit. For the quick recap, Lance Baxter, AKA, DC Douglass, the voice over guy for GEICO commercials, was fired from his job when he called Freedom Works and insulted the Tea Party movement. Using the word “retarded” probably didn’t help him out either. That, of course set off a debate on people being punished for speaking out-no matter the reprehensible manner. But, there was something forgotten in all of this. As usual, the left engaged in this same behavior, on a...

Gay rights supporters in California say they have found an unlikely ally in Cindy McCain, the wife of Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who lent her name this week to the cause of same-sex marriage. McCain’s support comes as Proposition 8 proponents and opponents battle over the constitutionality of California’s ban on gay marriage in San Francisco federal court. The ad features McCain, right hand over her heart, wind rustling her blond locks, with “No H8” written on her cheek and silver duct tape over her mouth. “To have the wife of a Republican presidential candidate really turns everything...

SAN FRANCISCO – Lawyers for two couples challenging California's ban on same-sex marriage plan to wrap up their case Friday following the incendiary testimony of a proponent who said he thinks gays are more likely to be pedophiles and that allowing them to wed would lead to the legalization of polygamy and incest. Hak-Shing William Tam of San Francisco spent five hours testifying Thursday as a hostile plaintiffs' witness to prove that bias toward gays fueled the 2008 campaign to pass the voter-approved measure, known as Proposition 8. Tam, who was one of five people who signed on as official...

SAN FRANCISCO – A proponent of California's same-sex marriage ban warned voters in a letter during the 2008 campaign that gay rights activists would try to legalize sex with children if same-sex couples had the right to wed, according to evidence presented Wednesday in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the measure. San Francisco resident Hak-Shing William Tam, a defendant in the lawsuit, discussed the letter to Chinese-Americans church groups during a legal deposition taped last month. Tam wrote that legalizing same-sex marriage was part of a broader gay agenda. "On their agenda list is: legalize having sex with children," states...

THE much-anticipated trial to determine the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8 is scheduled to begin this morning in the case of Perry v. Schwarzenegger. What’s at stake in this case, filed in federal district court in San Francisco on behalf of two gay couples, is not just the right of California voters to reaffirm the definition of marriage as only between a man and a woman, but also whether marriage may be otherwise defined in any state. The entire premise of this litigation is disquieting — that traditional marriage is nothing but “the residue of centuries of figurative and literal...

On Monday, Jan. 11, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker will put the people of California on trial for voting against gay marriage. The case will be a show trial in a kangaroo court. I don't say that lightly of any federal judge, but Judge Walker's extraordinary bias has already been flagrantly on display. Take the trial itself. The constitutionality of Proposition 8 is not really a matter for a trial of fact. It's a question of law. But Judge Walker ordered one anyway. Why? Ordinarily a trial judge's rulings of fact cannot be questioned by higher courts. So the more...

Over at NRO, Ed Whelan has been following some bizarre manuevering by the federal district court judge in the Northern District of California who apparently is trying to have a televised “show trial” regarding Proposition 8. Without getting into the merits of Proposition 8 or the legal challenges to it, I agree with Whelan that it seems highly unusual for a judge to authorize televised proceedings for this particular case as part of some new “pilot” project to see how televised proceedings work. Surely if there were going to be a test run of a new idea, it should be...

St. Paul, Minn. — A group of Twin Cities Quakers has decided to stop signing marriage certificates for opposite-sex couples until the state legalizes gay marriage. "We're simply trying to be consistent with the will of God as we perceive it," said Paul Landskroener, clerk of the Twin Cities Friends Meeting, in an interview with MPR's All Things Considered on Monday. The congregation will continue to hold both opposite-sex and same-sex weddings at its meeting house, but will no longer sign the legal marriage certificate for opposite-sex couples. Instead, couples will need to have the certificate signed by a justice...

The effort to get same sex marriage on the California ballot in 2010 took a hit Monday. Rick Jacbos, the leader of the 700,000-member Courage Campaign just told us that after spending more than $200,000 on "qualitative research" into the issue in California that "We do not see a path to victory." So, the Courage Campaign sent a note to its supporters Monday calling for "for more research and time to change hearts and minds before returning to the ballot." Lambda Legal, a LGBT legal organization, said largely the same thing Monday. Jacobs told us that the research -- led...

A group called Love Honor Cherish launched an Internet-based effort today to collect enough signatures to place a measure repealing Prop. 8, the anti-gay marriage law, on the state ballot by next year. The signature-gathering drive will use social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, organizers said in a statement. “We’re taking names,” said John Henning, who is heading the SignForEquality.com effort launched to collect the signatures. "People throughout California can now help us win marriage back by the simple act of signing and collecting signatures.” Prop. 8 was approved by California voters a year ago, reversing a California...

Abstract: Supporters of Proposition 8 in California have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, vandalism, racial scapegoating, blacklisting, loss of employment, economic hardships, angry protests, violence, at least one death threat, and gross expressions of anti-religious bigotry. Arguments for same-sex marriage are based fundamentally on the idea that limiting marriage to the union of husband and wife is a form of bigotry, irrational prejudice, and even hatred against homosexual persons. As this ideology seeps into the culture more generally, individuals and institutions that support marriage as the union of husband and wife risk paying a price for that belief in many...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge said sponsors of California's ban on same-sex marriage may not delay in handing over campaign strategy documents to gay-rights groups that are looking for evidence of anti-gay bias as they try to overturn the measure. The sponsors had sought to keep the documents while challenging the order to turn them over in an appeals court. But in a ruling late Friday, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of San Francisco said backers of Proposition 8 had failed to show that disclosing internal memos and e-mails would violate their freedom of speech or subject them...

Abstract: Supporters of Proposition 8 in California have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, vandalism, racial scapegoating, blacklisting, loss of employment, economic hardships, angry protests, violence, at least one death threat, and gross expressions of anti-religious bigotry. Arguments for same-sex marriage are based fundamentally on the idea that limiting marriage to the union of husband and wife is a form of bigotry, irrational prejudice, and even hatred against homosexual persons. As this ideology seeps into the culture more generally, individuals and institutions that support marriage as the union of husband and wife risk paying a price for that belief in many...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states. In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday, Schwarzenegger approved the two bills by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. The governor last year vetoed the measure declaring May 22 a state day of recognition for Milk, suggesting that the former San Francisco supervisor be honored locally. But he subsequently named him to the California Hall of Fame. Leno's SB 54, meanwhile, requires California to recognize marriages performed in other states where same...

In November 1987, two Gay Activists penned an article published in a Gay Magazine titled THE OVERHAULING OF STRAIGHT AMERICA, which was essentially the outline of “a propaganda campaign to confuse and deceive the American people about their objectives.” Tactics mentioned include “intimidation, lies, and fear to silence opposition.” Nowhere is then seen any better than in California after passage of their Proposition 8, overturning the legislative action allowing same-sex marriage in that state. It can also be seen quite vividly today in Washington State as a measure allowing Domestic Partnerships legal standing, laughably referred to as “Everything but marriage,”...

Today, a federal judge tossed out yet another challenge to Proposition 8. (Prop 8 is a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman in California) This time the challenge was on "federal constitutional grounds..."

New poll finds only 33 percent of Americans favor, a 9-point drop since April The number of Americans who support same-sex marriage has plunged over the last few months, according to a new poll. The CBS News/New York Times study found that 33 percent of respondents favor same-sex marriage. That represents a 9 percent drop since April. Everett Rice, legislative coordinator for the California Family Council, said he has a theory about the decrease. "People really recognize their core and their values, their heritage," he said. "When people want to go in and redefine that, it really goes against everybody's...

SALT LAKE CITY — An activist who worked alongside slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk announced plans Sunday for a march on Washington this fall to demand that Congress establish equality and marriage rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Cleve Jones said the march, planned for Oct. 11, will coincide with National Coming Out Day and launch a new chapter in the gay rights movement. He made the announcement during a rally at the annual Utah Pride Festival. "We seek nothing more and nothing less than equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all...

After yesterday’s ruling from the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8’s ban on gay marriage but allowing the already-existing gay marriages to remain legal, I predicted that an inventive attorney would attack the judgment in federal court on equal-protection arguments arising from that Solomonic split. That challenge came more quickly than even I predicted, and from an unusual choice of attorneys. Byron York profiles Ted Olson’s decision to make a federal case out of Prop 8: ----------------------------------------------- "The suit argues that the state’s marriage ban, upheld Tuesday by the California Supreme Court, violates the federal constitutional right for same-sex couples...

Yesterday - less than three months after Kenneth W. Starr and I appeared in the California Supreme Court on behalf of our ProtectMarriage.com Campaign to defend Prop 8 - the Court finally issued its decision... all 185 pages of it! By a 6 to 1 vote, a nearly-unanimous majority of the Supreme Court upheld the vote of the people by which Prop 8 was passed into law to protect traditional marriage in our State Constitution. You can read the decision here as it appears on the Court's website. While there were no real surprises in the decision, and it looks...

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- On Tuesday morning, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 — the gay marriage ban passed back in November 2008 — and on Tuesday night some of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities joined thousands of protesters in the streets of West Hollywood to voice their anger, frustration and hope of a future overturning of the proposition. Celebrities in attendance included Drew Barrymore, Kathy Griffin and her mother Maggie Griffin, George Takei and husband Brad Altman, Kelly Osbourne and finance Luke Worrell, Deborah Gibson, Emmy Rossum, Sophia Bush, Perez Hilton and Shanna Moakler. Access Hollywood caught up with Kathy...

Filed 5/26/09       IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA       KAREN L. STRAUSS et al.,                                                               )     Petitioners,                                                                                                              )             v.                                                                                                           ) MARK B. HORTON, as State Registrar of Vital Statistics, etc., et al., )    S168047     Respondents;                                                                                               ) DENNIS HOLLINGSWORTH et al.,                                                            )     Interveners.                                                                                                  ) ———————————————————————————— ) ROBIN TYLER et al.,                                                                                     )     Petitioners,                                                                                                              )             v.                                                                                                           ) THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA et al.,                                                            )    S168066     Respondents;                                                                                               ) DENNIS HOLLINGSWORTH et al.,                                                            )     Interveners.                                                                                                  ) ———————————————————————————— ) CITY...