Over the Rainbow: - Wrestling With Angels
Over the Rainbow: - Wrestling With Angels
Over the Rainbow: - Wrestling With Angels
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amendment denying gay marriage had qualified two weeks earlier for <strong>the</strong> November election,<br />
<strong>the</strong> four to three decision took effect on June 16, 2008 (Wikipedia, (b) 2010).<br />
Proposition 8 Eliminates Right to Same-Sex Marriage<br />
In November of 2008 <strong>the</strong> short lived right to same-sex marriage in California was<br />
overturned when Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment titled Eliminates Right of<br />
Same-Sex Couples to Marry Act appeared on <strong>the</strong> California ballot and passed with a 52%<br />
majority. This vote superseded <strong>the</strong> Supreme Court’s authorization granting marriage licenses<br />
to same-sex couples.<br />
Following <strong>the</strong> passage of Proposition 8, <strong>the</strong> California Supreme Court Justices affirmed that<br />
marriages performed in California before Proposition 8 took effect continued to be valid. In<br />
October 0f 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law The Marriage Recognition and<br />
Family Protection Act which was proposed by <strong>the</strong> openly gay State Senator Mark Leno. This bill<br />
established that same-sex marriages performed outside <strong>the</strong> state that were performed before<br />
Proposition 8 are recognized by <strong>the</strong> state of California (Wikipedia, 2010).<br />
Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court is Imminent<br />
Following <strong>the</strong> vote on Proposition 8 in California angry gay proponents of same-sex marriage<br />
vowed to fight on. In early January of 2010 a closely watched federal trial took center stage in a<br />
California courtroom to decide a challenge to California’s gay marriage ban approved by voters .<br />
However <strong>the</strong> case is decided, <strong>the</strong> ruling will likely be appealed to <strong>the</strong> U.S. Supreme Court. This<br />
case, bankrolled by liberal Hollywood activists, was <strong>the</strong> first federal trial to examine <strong>the</strong><br />
constitutionality of a ban on gay marriage (Leff, 2010).<br />
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker is <strong>the</strong> federal judge who will decide <strong>the</strong> case filed by<br />
homosexual activists against Proposition 8. In early February of 2010 <strong>the</strong> San Francisco<br />
Chronicle ‘outed’ Judge Walker reporting that “The biggest open secret in <strong>the</strong> landmark trial<br />
over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that <strong>the</strong> federal judge who will decide<br />
<strong>the</strong> case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay” (Barber, 2010).<br />
Judge Walker, appointed to <strong>the</strong> bench by President George H. W. Bush in 1989, never took<br />
pains to hide his orientation. The lawyers representing <strong>the</strong> activist plaintiffs are a legal oddcouple.<br />
Ted Olsen was a former Bush attorney and David Goies was a lawyer for Al Gore. Judge<br />
Walker defied federal law by allowing <strong>the</strong> trial to be broadcast worldwide. This decision was<br />
subsequently overturned by <strong>the</strong> U.S. Supreme Court, but supporters of Proposition 8 had lost<br />
two-thirds of <strong>the</strong>ir expert witnesses who feared for <strong>the</strong>ir safety and for <strong>the</strong>ir families.<br />
<strong>Over</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Rainbow</strong>: The Gay Battle for Social Reorganization of America. 2010<br />
Dr. M. L. Coppock<br />
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