Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Gay Marriage Foes Want to Impeach Judge Who Overturned Prop 8
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker (AP Photo/San Francisco Daily Journal, S.Todd Rogers)
Just like Lawyer David Boies warned, Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling to overturn Prop 8 would have critics attacking everything but what's in his 138-page decision. Today the American Family Association called for its members to work towards impeaching Federal District Court Judge Vaughn Walker."Since marriage policy is not established anywhere in the federal Constitution, defining marriage, according to the 10th Amendment, is an issue reserved for the states. Judge Walker never should have accepted this case in the first place," Tim Wildmon, President of the AFA, wrote in an e-mail to members today. "In addition, Judge Walker is an open homosexual, and should have recused himself from this case due to his obvious conflict of interest."
But Walker's sexual orientation was never a big issue when he was randomly selected to preside over the case. "It doesn't seem to be an issue for anybody, including the supporters of Proposition 8, because when it was announced that Judge Walker was the judge who'd been assigned this case, they did not ask that he be recused from it," said NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates."They didn't think that he'd have a conflict in overseeing it. And that's pretty interesting."
Walker was appointed to the court by George H. W. Bush.
Wildmon, like other conservatives, also uses the 10th Amendment -- “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people" -- as a reason for Walker's ousting.
While that may not be enough of a reason to oust him, "many legal observers are saying that the Supreme Court will in all likelihood decline to hear it and bounce it back to the states because they think the states ought to work it out," added Grigsby Bates. "And also because, frankly, it's a pretty sticky issue."
Others are not so sure. The high court has taken on numerous other marriage cases in the past.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
