A federal judge, himself in open homosexual relationship(s), has ruled not only that the U.S. Constitution provides rights to homosexuals, he also blasted Christians for saying homosexual behavior is sinful.
UPDATE 3/1/11: Calif. Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris asks federal appeals court to permit same-sex 'marriage' during the Prop 8 appeal (an outrageous defiance of the voters' will)
UPDATE 8/17/10: Same-sex "marriages" on hold pending appeals process
UPDATE 8/13/10: Marriage Judge Is on Shaky Ground (legal opinion)
-- From "Court Rejects Same-Sex Marriage Ban in California" by Jesse Mckinley And John Schwartz, New York Times 8/4/10
A federal judge in San Francisco struck down California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, handing a temporary victory to gay rights advocates in a legal battle that seems all but certain to be settled by the Supreme Court.
Wednesday’s decision is just the latest chapter of what is expected to be a long legal battle over the ban — Proposition 8, which was passed in 2008 with 52 percent of the vote -- and proponents were already promising to appeal, confidently predicting that higher courts would be less accommodating to the other side than Vaughn R. Walker, the judge who issued the ruling.
There were also signs that Judge Walker’s personal life – several published reports have said he is gay -- might become an issue for those opposed to his ruling.
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From "Landmark: Judge overturns Calif. 'gay marriage' ban" by Michael Foust, Baptist Press 8/4/10
The San Francisco Chronicle reported in February that Walker himself is homosexual -- a fact that led both sides of the issue debating whether such a revelation is pertinent. The case was randomly assigned to him. He was nominated by the first President Bush.
"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license," Walker wrote in a 136-page ruling. "Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples."
Religion was a major theme on five of the 12 days of trial testimony, with orthodox views on homosexuality cast by the plaintiffs as bigoted. The official statements on marriage of the Southern Baptist Convention and Roman Catholic church were read in the courtroom on the trial's third day as examples of prejudice. On the seventh day, Stanford University political science professor Gary Segura, a witness for the plaintiffs, called religion "the chief obstacle for gay and lesbian political progress."
Religious liberty will take a hit if the ruling is upheld, conservative groups are warning. They point to a host of legal cases in recent years that they say prove their point.
Walker's ruling came less than a month after a federal judge in Massachusetts issued another first-of-its-kind decision, reversing part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and ruling that the government cannot constitutionally distinguish between traditional marriage and same-sex "marriage." That decision likely will be appealed.
[Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission,] said he is seeing "an unprecedented effort going on across the nation" whereby Christians are "uniting for sustained prayer, for revival, awakening and deliverance." He encourage Christians to visit 4040prayer.com to learn ways they can pray for the nation.
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From "Same-Sex Marriage Ban Overturned; What's Next?" by Jan Crawford, CBS News 8/4/10
This is a devastating opinion for opponents of same-sex marriage. In his wording, the judge isn't just wading into the cultural wars, he is diving in. It's a forceful defense not only of same-sex marriage but of gay people.
There are 80 different findings of fact, including that "same-sex love and intimacy are well-documented in human history" and that "same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples and that religious beliefs that homosexual relationships are sinful harm gays and lesbians."
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