Catherine Chiocchi
Editor-in-Chief
Back in May, when my better judgment told me I should have been studying for my AP exams, I found myself surreptitiously opening my web browser to spend hours on an admittedly distracting website (which I quickly exited out of whenever my mom came into my room to check that I was on-task).
All aforementioned evidence would point to Facebook as the obvious culprit. But jumping to premature conclusions can often lead you astray. Ignoring the textbooks plopped open on my lap, I spent my study time scouring pages upon hundreds of pages of transcripts from the historic Perry v. Schwarzenegger hearing in California that I found on equalrightsfoundation.org.
I knew exactly how Judge Vaughn Walker was going to deliberate long before he handed down his ruling on August 4. You don’t need to be a tried and seasoned federal judge to objectively tell who made the stronger case. Attorneys Theodore Olsen and David Boies, who represented the four plaintiffs, hit their case out of the ballpark, whereas Defense Attorneys Charles J. Cooper and Andrew Pugno presented an irrefutably weak case. Boies tore apart the defense’s main witness, David Blankenhorn, during the cross-examination, making their “expert” seem incompetent.
Frankly, I would question Judge Walker’s judgment if he didn’t rule in favor of the plaintiffs. Boies and Olsen handed the defense a brutal legal thrashing, and I wasn’t even there to witness the live courtroom drama.
- Judge Vaughn Walker, photo from sfgate.com
Therefore, it angers me that people have the gumption to say Walker—who is openly gay—was biased in his ruling. Prop 8 supporters bemoan, “He’s an unelected, left-wing, activist judge trying to impress his will upon the people of the state.”
First of all, get your facts right. Walker was appointed by Ronald Reagan—the Republicans’ hero, no less. Even back in 1987, his appointment was controversial because Walker was perceived to be too conservative. Nancy Pelosi opposed his nomination because of his “insensitivity” towards gays and the poor, despite being gay himself.
Just because he’s a gay judge presiding over a case dealing with gay issues doesn’t automatically mean he’s biased. How many times have straight judges overseen cases dealing with heterosexual issues and no one raised a finger?
What infuriates me most of all is that these people who are now screaming for Walker’s head probably didn’t even know about the case until the day the ruling was announced. One need just skim the transcripts—they speak for themselves. The defense made no case. The stronger case won. Case closed.
Is this ruling really as controversial as it has been painted in the media? Not for the youngest generations. I’ve heard political pundits say that gay marriage is a closed issue among people under 30, and I have to say I agree. Even in a stereotypically conservative town like New Canaan, the majority of kids I run into at NCHS honestly don’t care. Sure, there are some anomalies, but that’s what they are—anomalies. The tides are changing. The sooner those “over 30” people recognize that, the better.
What’s the harm in same-sex marriage? How does a marriage between two men in California belittle a marriage between a man and a woman in Texas? Countries like Canada, Spain, South Africa, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Argentina, Portugal and Iceland can’t find valid answers for those questions. The United States should join those trailblazing nations by nationally legalizing same-sex marriage. Hopefully the Supreme Court agrees with me.
People who oppose same-sex marriage often say “traditional” heterosexual marriage is an ancient institution and to alter it would lead to our peril as a society. Yet if we were to adhere solely to the philosophy of “tradition,” slavery would still be legal, miscegenation would still be outlawed, and women still wouldn’t be allowed to vote. Just because things have been a certain way for a long time doesn’t make them right, just or constitutional.
What really cheapens “traditional” marriage is the fifty percent divorce rate. Family values agencies should really focus their efforts on fixing that rather than exaggerating the “perilous” consequences of same-sex marriage.
As far as I’m concerned, if two people are in love, who are we to say they can’t walk down the aisle?
