Guest Opinion: Purportedly 'Gay' Proposition 8 Judge Should Recuse Himself

'Any decision favoring plaintiffs in this case will be permanently marred and universally viewed as stemming from Judge Walker's personal biases.'

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LYNCHBURG, VA (Liberty Counsel) - Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel, released the following statement today on news that the San Francisco Chronicle has "outed" 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Vaughn Walker as an active practitioner of the homosexual lifestyle.

Judge Walker has presided over California's Proposition 8 case filed by homosexual extremists who seek to manufacture a constitutional "right" to so-called "same-sex marriage:"

"The revelation that Judge Walker apparently chooses to engage in homosexual conduct, if true, would explain much of his bizarre behavior throughout this trial," said Barber.

"At every turn he's displayed extreme bias in favor of his similarly situated homosexual activist plaintiffs. These individuals have eschewed the democratic process and seek to employ like-minded judicial activists to radically redefine the millennia-old definition of natural marriage.

"Enter Judge Walker. In unprecedented form, and to plaintiffs' delight, he has created a circus-like atmosphere throughout. He even violated federal rules by deciding to allow the trial to be broadcast worldwide, but was subsequently shot-down and sharply rebuked by the U.S. Supreme Court for doing so.

"Unfortunately, the damage was already done," continued Barber. "Prop 8 supporters lost around two-thirds of expert witnesses who, naturally - based on homosexuals' violent reaction to passage of Prop 8 - feared for their own safety and for that of family members.

"Judge Walker then ordered Prop 8 proponents to disclose private communications, work product, emails and campaign strategies to plaintiffs while - in an example of jaw-dropping inequality - permitted plaintiffs to keep the same materials secret.

"He also allowed plaintiffs a parade of 'expert' witnesses who viciously maligned Christians and other observers of natural and historic sexual morality as 'prejudiced,' 'bigoted' and 'homophobic.'

"This is no different than having an avid gun collector preside over a Second Amendment case," continued Barber, "or a frequent user of medical marijuana deciding the legality of medical marijuana.

"Even his fellow judges on the notoriously liberal 9th Circuit have been forced to step-in and overturn more than one of his inexplicable rulings relative to this case. Based on his demonstrated misbehavior, there's no reason to believe anything will change.

"At worst, Judge Walker's continued involvement with this case presents a textbook conflict of interest. At best, it objectively illustrates the unseemly appearance of a conflict.

"If Judge Walker somehow divines from thin air that the framers of the U.S. Constitution actually intended that Patrick Henry had a 'constitutional right' to marry Henry Patrick, then who among us will be surprised?

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"Any decision favoring plaintiffs in this case will be permanently marred and universally viewed as stemming from Judge Walker's personal biases and alleged lifestyle choices.

"For these reasons, and in the interest of justice, Judge Walker should do the honorable thing and immediately recuse himself."

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Liberty Counsel is a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family. Established in 1989, Liberty Counsel is a nationwide organization with offices in Florida, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., and hundreds of affiliate attorneys across the Nation.