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Should gay judge in Prop 8 case be removed?

Published

16 years ago

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A gay federal judge in San Francisco presiding over the Proposition 8 trial on same-sex marriage should be evaluated on whether he is impartial and fair and should not be forced to step away from the case because of his sexual orientation.

That’s the assessment of many legal observers as well as supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage.

But while agreeing that Judge Vaughn Walker, 65, shouldn’t remove himself from the case solely on grounds of his sexual orientation, advocates on both sides of the gay marriage issue disagree sharply over whether Walker has shown a bias in favor of the plaintiffs in the case, who seek to overturn Proposition 8.

“Whatever Judge Walker’s sexual orientation is, it’s not a reason to take him off the case,” said American Civil Liberties attorney James Esseks, who works for the ACLU’s LGBT rights project.

“Judge Walker’s sexual orientation … doesn’t make him unable to decide the issues before him impartially,” Esseks said in an ACLU blog. “What does matter is how he conducts himself as a judge, and his ability to put his own views and background aside and focus on the law and the constitution.”

Walker serves as chief judge for the U.S. District Court in Northern California, where two same-sex couples filed a lawsuit last year challenging the constitutionality of the ballot proposition. California voters approved the ballot measure in November 2008, which overturned a decision by the state’s highest court legalizing same-sex marriage.

Lawyers and advocates defending Proposition 8 have accused Vaughn of being biased against the measure during a 12-day trial in January, which recessed before news surfaced in the San Francisco Chronicle that Vaughn is gay.

Although some Proposition 8 backers associated with religious groups called for Walker’s removal from the case because of his sexual orientation, most conservative activists defending the ballot measure have said the judge should instead step down because of the alleged bias he has shown.

“I have no reason to doubt that there are homosexuals who could preside impartially over this case, just as I have no reason to doubt that there are heterosexuals whose bias in favor of, or against, same-sex marriage would unduly skew their handling of the case,” said Ed Whelan, a conservative commentator, in a National Review essay.

But Whelan added, “From the outset, Walker’s entire course of conduct in the anti-Prop 8 case has reflected a manifest design to turn the lawsuit into a high-profile, culture-transforming, history-making Scopes-style show trial of Prop 8’s sponsors.”

Whelan pointed to a U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Walker’s initial plans to allow the Prop 8 trial to be broadcast over the Internet. He also noted that an appeals court consisting mostly of Clinton appointees overturned, in part, a procedural decision by Walker to allow the plaintiffs to obtain internal communications, including e-mail, from organizers of the Prop 8 election campaign.

LGBT activists backing the plaintiffs’ case against Prop 8 have disputed allegations that Walker is biased, saying the ballot measure’s defenders are angry at the judge because of his rulings against them on a number of legal issues. Supporters of the plaintiffs, including their attorneys, say Walker’s rulings during the trial were based on legal principals and decisions of past cases, not on bias.

Walker is currently reviewing the evidence presented by a series of witnesses during the trial and is expected to resume the case to hear closing arguments in March.

“Every judge has a sexual orientation,” said American University law professor Nancy Polikoff, in commenting on critics who say Walker should step down from the case because he’s gay.

“If a judge were straight, would a gay plaintiff have a ground to recuse the judge because he was straight? No, that’s ridiculous,” she said. “And the same thing is true with any assertion that being gay makes him unable to hear the case. It’s not evidence of having any kind of prejudice that would stop a judge from being able to decide a case on the law.”

Walker was first nominated for his judicial position by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, but Democrats in Congress initially blocked the nomination on grounds that Walker’s record as a lawyer in private practice showed insensitivity toward civil rights, including gay rights.

President George H.W. Bush renewed Walker’s nomination in 1989, and the Senate later approved it after receiving assurances that he would rule impartially and fairly.

In a Feb. 9 editorial, the San Francisco Chronicle said Walker’s record of more than 20 years on the bench has shown he has fulfilled his promise.

“Walker did not think his private life was relevant to his ability to preside with fairness in the Prop 8 trial,” says the editorial. “There is nothing in his long and laudable career to suggest otherwise.”

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Pennsylvania

Pa. House passes bill to codify marriage equality in state law

Governor supports gay state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta’s measure

Published

23 hours ago

on

March 26, 2026

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Pennsylvania Capitol Building (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would codify marriage equality in state law.

House Bill 1800 passed by a 127-72 vote margin. Twenty-six Republicans voted for the measure.

The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate will now consider the bill that state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), who is the first openly gay person of color elected to the state’s General Assembly, introduced. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro supports the measure.

“Here in Pennsylvania, we believe in your freedom to marry who you love,” said Shapiro on Wednesday. “Today, the House has stepped up to protect that right.”

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Florida

DeSantis signs emergency bill that restores Fla. ADAP funding

Temporary funds to last through June 30

Published

2 days ago

on

March 25, 2026

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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (Screen capture/NBC News)

After the Florida Department of Health made huge cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program in January, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed emergency legislation restoring HIV access to more than 12,000 Floridians.

Two months ago, as the Washington Blade reported, the Sunshine State cut the vast majority of those in ADAP by shifting the income levels required for eligibility — without following standard procedure when changing government policy outside of legislative or executive action.

The bill, signed by DeSantis on Tuesday, passed both chambers of the Florida Legislature unanimously and appropriates $30.9 million in emergency bridge funding through June 30, 2026. It restores Florida’s ADAP income eligibility to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level — the level it was prior to the January cuts. The legislation also requires the FDOH to submit detailed monthly financial reports to legislative leadership beginning April 1.

Under the old policy, eligibility would have been limited to those making no more than 130 percent of the federal poverty level, or $20,345 per year.

“For 10 weeks, 12,000 Floridians living with HIV did not know if they could fill their next prescription. Today, they can,” Esteban Wood, director of advocacy and legislative affairs at AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said in a statement.

The detailed reports now required to be sent to legislative leadership must include all federal revenues and expenditures, including manufacturer rebates; enrollment figures by county and insurance status; prescription utilization by drug class; and any projected funding shortfalls. This is the first time the Legislature has required this level of financial transparency from the program.

DeSantis signed the legislation one day after a Leon County Circuit Court judge denied AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s request for an injunction to block the significant changes the DeSantis administration is making to the program, which it claims faces a $120 million shortfall for calendar year 2026.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a national organization focused on protecting and expanding HIV healthcare access and prevention methods, filed a lawsuit over the change in eligibility, arguing the Florida Department of Health did not follow the laid out path for formally changing policy and was acting outside established procedures.

Typically, altering eligibility for a statewide program requires either legislative action or adherence to a multistep rule-making process, including: publishing a Notice of Proposed Rule; providing a statement of estimated regulatory costs; allowing public comment; holding hearings if requested; responding to challenges; and formally adopting the rule. According to AIDS Healthcare Foundation, none of these steps occurred.

The long-term structure of ADAP will be determined by the 2026–2027 fiscal year state budget, something that lawmakers have until June 30 to finish.

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Federal Government

Markwayne Mullin confirmed as next DHS secretary

Okla. senator to succeed Kristi Noem

Published

3 days ago

on

March 24, 2026

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The U.S. Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as the next secretary of Homeland Security on Monday, as the agency continues to grapple with what lawmakers have described as a “never-ending” funding standoff, with Democrats attempting to withhold funding from one of the nation’s largest and most costly agencies.

Mullin — a Republican senator from Oklahoma, former mixed martial arts fighter, and plumbing business owner — was confirmed in a 54–45 vote. Two Democrats — U.S. Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) — sided with Republicans in supporting his confirmation.

The new agency head is expected to follow the policy direction set by President Donald Trump, emphasizing stricter immigration enforcement. This includes proposals to support immigration agents at polling sites and to cut funding to so-called “sanctuary cities.”

Mullin replaces Kristi Noem, who was fired earlier this month following a widely scrutinized 2-day congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.

During the hearing, Noem faced intense questioning over her response to several crises, including the fatal shooting of two American citizens in Minneapolis by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, a $220 million border security advertising campaign that featured her on horseback near Mount Rushmore amid one of the largest federal workforce reductions in U.S. history, and the federal response to major natural disasters such as the July 2025 Texas floods and Hurricane Helene in 2024.

Noem had previously drawn criticism for a series of policy decisions in South Dakota that broadly focused on restricting the rights of LGBTQ individuals. In 2023, she signed House Bill 1080, banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. She also signed legislation and executive orders restricting trans athletes’ participation in women’s sports, as well as the state’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” which critics argued enabled discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. Additionally, the state canceled contracts related to LGBTQ support services — including suicide prevention and health care navigation programs‚ and later agreed to a $300,000 settlement with trans advocacy group, The Transformation Project.

Despite her removal from DHS, Noem will remain in the Trump-Vance administration as a special envoy for the “Shield of the Americas,” an initiative aimed at promoting U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere, including efforts to counter cartel networks, reduce Chinese influence, and manage migration.

The new head of DHS has served in Congress since 2013, in both houses of the federal legislature. While in the Senate and a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Mullin has been a vocal critic of policies aimed at expanding LGBTQ inclusion. He led a group of lawmakers in urging the Administration for Community Living to reverse a rule requiring states to prioritize Older Americans Act services based on sexual orientation and gender identity, arguing the policy could have unintended consequences.

Mullin also makes history as the first Native American — and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation — to lead the Department of Homeland Security. He was also among the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results despite no evidence of widespread fraud, and was present in the U.S. House of Representatives chamber on Jan. 6.

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