If you're gay, you can't be impartial

In the next twenty four hours we will learn whether a California Judge believes that another California judge should have revealed his sexuality before ruling on the Constitutionality of California’s same sex marriage ban. We already know the real answer though … of course not. Would we make a big deal about a black judge ruling on a case involving racial discrimination? What about a Latino judge ruling on an immigration related issue? Saying that a gay judge can’t be impartial when it comes to constitutional issues is kind of like saying that people shouldn’t be allowed to choose their own life partner and marry them. It’s kind of like saying government shouldn’t regulate corporations whose actions can wreck the economy or the environment, but should step in to protect the flag from people trying to exercise free speech or the ‘institution of marriage’ from people who profess to love one another. Which of course is why we have a debate about whether Judge Vaughn Walker should have let everyone know he was gay prior to ruling on the constitutionality of a law.