NOM Founding Board Member Prof. Robert George on Jim Lehrer’s NewsHour. »
Jim Lehrer NewsHour – “After Calif. Same-Sex Marriage Ruling, What's Ahead Legally for Both Sides?”
Univ. of Penn. Law Prof Criticizes Walker’s Prop 8 Ruling »
Prof. Amy Wax of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, criticized Judge Walker’s Prop 8 ruling in the New York Times:
Finding of Fact #77: Religion Hurts Gays and Lesbians »
Judge Walker declared a number of things as "fact" in this trial. One of them is Finding of Fact #77.
Brian Brown is the Talk of the Nation! NPR reports, you decide. »
NPR Talk of the Nation -- Will Gay Marriage Ruling Be A Ripple Or Tsunami?
More Legal Experts Weigh In: Walker’s Attempt to Restrict Facts Won’t Work. »
Over at Volokh.com, another legal expert, Orin Kerr, argues:
If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, I don’t think the factual record will matter very much. I think that for three main reasons. First, the Justices will know that this case presents a defining moment for their respective tenures on the Court. This will be one of the biggest decisions of their careers, and its importance transcends a single trial before a single judge with a particular set of witnesses. These sorts of mega-big-picture cases tend [to] rest less on the details of the factual record than other cases. Second, the Justices will certainly recognize. . . Judge Walker was trying to use his facts to make an argument designed to persuade the Justices to agree with him. For better or worse, I suspect a majority of the Justices will respond to that dynamic by significantly discounting those facts.
Maggie Gallagher v. Evan Wolfson on Anderson Cooper 360 »
Mama grizzlies for marriage? Don't take our word for it about Maggie's CNN performance -- take Lauren's:
"I just watched your debate on CNN and you did an amazing job! Thank you for standing up for the marriage between and man and a woman. I really appreciate your hard work. You are incredibly well versed and an amazing strong woman. Thank you!”
Watch for yourself here.
Dr. J on AOL News: “The Institution Formerly Known as Marriage” »
Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse has a terrific piece on the Prop 8 ruling up on AOL News this afternoon.
AOL News – “The Institution Formerly Known as Marriage”
(Aug. 5) -- The essential public purpose of marriage is to attach mothers and fathers to their children and to one another. Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling overturning California's Proposition 8 illustrates that he does not understand this basic point.
Brian Brown on CBN: Never before has a federal judge found a constitutional right to SSM »
CBN NEWS: Supporters, Opponents Awaits Prop 8 Ruling
California's voter-approved law barring gays from state-recognized marriage has been struck down by a federal court. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled late Wednesday to overturn Proposition 8, the initiative approved by 52 percent of Californians to define marriage as between one man and one woman.
More Reaction to Judge Walker’s Ruling: “His Grandiosity Will Be His Undoing” »
A professional litigator, who shall remain nameless (because he might have to appear before Judge Walker someday), told me regarding Judge Walker:
Brian Brown in the NYT: Prop 8 ruling “a horrendous decision” »
New York Times – “In Same-Sex Ruling, an Eye on the Supreme Court”
Bill Duncan on NRO: “A Conclusion Not Anchored in Reality” »
Bill Duncan, director of the Marriage Law Foundation, offered a brief analysis of Judge Walker’s ruling on NRO’s The Corner earlier this evening:
The court’s legal premise is pretty novel. Judge Walker rules that laws reflecting the understanding of marriage as the union of a man and a woman violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s due-process and equal-protection clauses. That is to say, he believes Proposition 8 took away a fundamental right and singled out a protected class for unfair treatment. The bottom-line conclusion in support of both legal theories is that California voters could have had no motive in supporting Proposition 8 other than a desire to signal that people who identify as gay and lesbian are inferior to heterosexuals. This is deeply problematic on at least two levels.
Maggie Gallagher in San Francisco Chronicle: “Judge Walker’s Bias Will Be Overruled” »
Maggie Gallagher, San Francisco Chronicle, “Prop 8: Judge Walker’s Bias Will be Overruled”
"If this ruling is upheld, millions of Americans will face for the first time a legal system that is committed to the view that our deeply held moral views on sex and marriage are unacceptable in the public square, the fruit of bigotry that should be discredited, stigmatized and repressed. Parents will find that, almost Soviet-style, their own children will be re-educated using their own tax dollars to disrespect their parents' views and values.
CNN: Judge Walker issues stay; opponents vow to appeal »
CNN.com – “Judge strikes down California’s ban on same-sex marriage”
“In a separate order, Walker also granted supporters of Proposition 8 a temporary stay, which stops his decision from taking immediate effect. . . . Walker gave both sides in the case until Friday to submit their responses to the order. . . .