Actually, maybe they should have gotten a straight judge to rule on Prop 8

Hear me out on this one, guys. As you may have already heard, “traditional” marriage advocates are arguing that Wednesday’s ruling against Proposition 8 shouldn’t be considered a fair ruling. Some argue that the judge in question, Vaughn Walker, overstepped his bounds when he ruled against the will of the 52% of people who voted in favour of Prop 8 in 2008, while others argue that he can’t possibly have ruled with objectivity because he’s gay.

Now, the first point’s just plain wrong. Any American grade school student who’s pulling down at least a C in social studies can probably tell you that Walker was operating well within his rights – nay, doing his job – as a federal judge when he ruled that Prop 8 “fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians.” The slim majority of voters who supported the measure may not like the ruling, but from a legal and political standpoint, it was totally on the level.

That said, when it comes to the second complaint, I’m willing to concede that the family values people may have a point when they say that Judge Walker wasn’t in a position to rule objectively. I know that’s a controversial position, and I know it doesn’t necessarily carry a lot of weight when it comes from an anti-same-sex marriage movement that’s overwhelmingly full of straight people. But as much as I hate to admit it, they may have a point.

Let me play devil’s advocate for a second. Walker’s in a committed same-sex relationship. He might want to get married himself someday. So he’s obviously got a vested interest in the outcome of this issue, right?

If we really want to be sure of the validity of a ruling on the matter of Prop 8, then maybe we ought to turn to someone who doesn’t have a personal investment in its impact. And only a straight person, who literally isn’t affected or inconvenienced in any way whatsoever by the marriage of two gay people, can possibly deliver such a ruling.

That is, unless that judge is one of those uptight moralists who actually thinks that gay people and their relationships are in any way inferior to the “traditional” kind. People like that probably aren’t capable of holding a fair and objective opinion on a measure like this, you know?

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