With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
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.
Sponsor
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.
At LAist, we focus on what matters to our community: clear, fair, and transparent reporting that helps you make decisions with confidence and keeps powerful institutions accountable.
Your support for independent local news is critical. With federal funding for public media gone, LAist faces a $1.7 million yearly shortfall. Speaking frankly, how much reader support we receive now will determine the strength of this reliable source of local information now and for years to come.
This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
That’s why we’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Thank you for understanding how essential it is to have an informed community and standing up for free press.
Your support for independent local news is critical. With federal funding for public media gone, LAist faces a $1.7 million yearly shortfall. Speaking frankly, how much reader support we receive now will determine the strength of this reliable source of local information now and for years to come.
This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
That’s why we’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Thank you for understanding how essential it is to have an informed community and standing up for free press.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
