Will Proposition 8 Judge Being Gay Impact On A Positive Result? Some Think So…

The San Francisco Chronicle yesterday revealed something that has long been an open secret in San Francisco – that Judge Vaughn Walker, the man proceeding over the Proposition 8 trial in San Francisco is himself gay.

Making it clear that Walker has never attempted to either publicise or hide his sexual orientation, the reaction to the news has lead some in the LGBT community to feel any positive finding will lead to criticism it was due to having a gay judge. Others, however, like  Kate Kendall, the head of the National Centre for Lesbian Rights, which did some great work in reporting from the court rooms told the San Francisco Chronicle that:

“There is nothing about Walker as a judge to indicate that his sexual orientation, other than being an interesting factor, will in any way bias his view,”

Given the case randomly, Walker may be gay however that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been willing to work for the other side, with many gays in San Francisco angered by his decision, when working as a private attorney, to present the US Olympic Committee as they attemted to stop the San Francisco’s Gay Olypics from infringing on their name.

The reaction from Proposition 8 supporters has varied from those who have said they would not see the findings as having any kind of bias to others like Ed Whelan writing for the National Review who is much more convinced Walker has an alterior motive saying:

Walker’s entire course of conduct has only one sensible explanation: that Walker is hellbent to use the case to advance the cause of same-sex marriage. Given his manifest inability to be impartial, Walker should have recused himself from the beginning, and he remains obligated to do so now

Walker has yet to make any form of statement to the media on the article or the reaction to it.