I had thought that if I heard one more word about Prop 8 in California that my head would explode. Turns out, that's not the case. Don't get me wrong; I do feel a wave of nausea come over me. But there is no cranial explosion, so that seems good. That doesn't mean that I have the stomach for some long and droning post, because I do not. That just means that I have the capacity to muse over a point that some guy who thinks his point matters is trying to make.
If you have been blissfully living under a rock or in a world where you don't have to hear about Prop 8 all the live long day, I envy you. But here's the scoop: On Friday, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker (probably related to Jimmie Walker...Dyn-o-mite!) essentially overturned California's ban on gay marriage, aka, Prop 8. And now a one Tony Perkins, who is the head of something called the Family Research Council, says that the judge never should have stayed on the case in the first place because of the judge's own alleged gayness.
A homo judge?! Blasphemy! Whatever. Tony Perkins (not Anthony Perkins; that was Psycho) says that Judge Walker "...should have recused himself from the case due to his own sexuality." Perkins was apparently on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday and said, "I think what you have is one judge who thinks he knows -- and a district level judge and an openly homosexual judge at that -- who says he knows better than not only 7 million voters in the state of California but voters in 30 states across the nation that have passed marriage amendments...This is far from over."
Now, now, Tony. Let's just calm down a little. Try and keep your homophobia in check so that you can get your facts straight (no pun intended), all right? OK, then. See, Judge Walker is not openly gay. It's a rumor, but it's not an open secret and/or fact, depending on which moniker you prefer. Usually when there's a rumor that isn't true, especially if it involves one being gay, folks tend to speak out and set the record straight (pun totally intended this time). I'm not saying that means that Judge Walker is gay. I'm just saying.
And regardless as to how I feel about Prop 8, I really do hate it when something is voted on by the people and then it is struck down by a judge. That frustrates the hell out of me. Aside from the incredible waste of time and money, the right of the people to vote is kind of an important element in this country. Having it taken away or essentially nullified by one judge could be doing more harm than good. And I realize that the people can be as dumb as a box of hair a lot of the time. That isn't up for debate. What's up for debate is when people vote for something and then they're told by a judge that they can't do that. Well, if they can't do that then don't have them vote on it in the first place. Why don't you folks get those ducks in a row and stop spending my money on rearranging your ducks?
But Tony Perkins isn't the only one with his boxers in a knot. No, according to The Huffington Post the American Family Association called the decision "outrageous and unconscionable" as well as saying that it "...should never have been allowed to happen." They insisted that "Walker...should have recused himself "because his judgment is clearly compromised by his own sexual proclivity." Hmmm. Interesting.
OK, I get their point. But the problem here is that there point is coming from their interests and from what they want. Of course they think that a gay judge is going to rule in favor of the gay side of things. But why wouldn't the same litmus test be applied to the other side of that argument? If it had been a straight judge and the straight judge had ruled in favor of Prop 8, wouldn't gay folks be saying that a straight judge should have recused himself because his judgment would have been "clearly compromised by his own sexual proclivity"? I think that's a fair argument to make.
The thing that the AFA and that Tony Perkins guy are overlooking is that Judge Walker is just that. He's a judge. It's right there in his title: Judge Walker. Part of being a judge is being impartial. That's the inherent underlying implication of being a judge. You're supposed to be impartial. I have no idea whether or not Judge Walker's alleged gayness had anything to do with his ruling. I do know that his ruling was 136 pages long and that seems a little meticulous for someone who is just flying by the seat of their pants.
But don't worry Tony Perkins and AFA folks. You're right. This isn't over yet. Of course it is going to go to a higher court. And after that court rules (and it won't matter either way because it will be appealed by the losing side) then it will inevitably end up with the Supreme Court. Is that a good idea? I don't know. I think it's poor strategy, personally. I think that the tide is slowly turning in California in regard to gay marriage. I think that there were several factors that contributed to Prop 8 being passed. And the majority of those factors could be eliminated or remedied at another election. Giving the whole thing time might have been a better way to go. This way, even though the judge has ruled Prop 8 to be a no-go, there still isn't gay marriage in California. No, it's going to be put on hold for years. Several years. And when the Supreme Court rules, there is a fifty-fifty chance that they're going to rule in favor of state's rights. And if it comes down to that, then it's done. It becomes a Roe v. Wade situation which will be highly and hotly debated for future years, but will never change.
In conclusion, I expect Judge Walker's ruling to be overturned by one of the higher courts. I base that on the basis of his ruling which is something called "rational basis". He said that there was no "rational basis" for Prop 8. From what I can tell, rational basis is one of the easiest rulings to overturn. Therefore, it will be. It won't be soon, but it will likely happen. And you know what will happen then? I'm going to have to figure out how to soundproof my walled-off compound because people will never stop talking about it ever when that day comes. Maybe I need some sort of a dome. Like in The Truman Show? I'm open to suggestions. All I know is I can't take much more of the incessant debating on either side. I just want it over already.
I just wanted to say one more quick thing that I left out (and that everyone else always leaves out) about the college students attacking Rick Santorum for a) being against gay marriage and, b) asking about how polygamy will fit into our laws if we're going to be OK with gay marriage. (Contrary to popular reporting, Rick Santorum was not comparing gay marriage to polygamy. But that's how it has been reported in most of the articles that I've read. And that's because...? The media sucks, that is correct.) 
against gay marriage. I want to speak to her (and the rest of the sanctimonious college students who booed Mr. Santorum during his town hall thingee that he did over there in Concord, N.H.) and I want to ask her one question. OK, fine. I want to ask her several questions, but only one that pertains to this discussion. The pertinent question is: Do you know that President Barry is against gay marriage? Because he is. 
Not only is President Barry against gay marriage, but Vice President Biden (aka Joey Veep) is against gay marriage also. Not only that, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (who was very nearly the Democratic party's nominee candidate for President last time around) is also against gay marriage. They're all against it. But no one ever talks about that! No, whenever this subject comes up with any candidate out there, if they're against it, it's portrayed in the media as if they're some sort of pariah who is so out of touch with the rest of the world. And every person who asks these questions of these candidates acts the same way. Would all of those college students who were booing Rick Santorum been cheering the President? Of course they would have. Because they just don't get it. 
For some reason, the media portrays gay marriage as something that is just universally accepted by everyone in the country and if you're against gay marriage that there is something wrong with you and you are in the minority. And I'm not pointing this out because I'm against gay marriage. I'm not. I'm pointing this out because no one else will! Out of the fifty states in America, there are six (plus Washington D.C.) where same-sex marriage is legal. And in all six of those states, same-sex marriage was legalized through legislation or a court ruling. It was not legalized through a vote put to the people. In the states where a vote was put to the people? Yeah, those states didn't vote in favor of it. Yet Rick Santorum gets booed and the media portrays him as being out of touch. Oh, someone's out of touch here. And while that might include Rick Santorum (but for reasons other than this), it includes a whole lot of other people that don't even know how out of touch they are. Media, I'm talking to you! 
