Gay Marriages Resume in California - It's Decision Time for Obama

Judge Walker has ruled that he will not stay his decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger and, therefore, same sex marriages will resume in California starting on August 19, 2010. Walker's decision to allow marriages to resume is due largely to his view that the non-governmental Prop 8 supporters cannot appeal unless the State of California in the form of the governor or the attorney general files an appeal. It comes down tot he "standing" issue I've previously discussed on this blog and in related posts at The Bilerico Project. Needless to say, the Christo-fascists are none too happy (see the photo above) and claim that Judge Walker mocks God. Meanwhile, of course, they totally mock the U.S. Constitution and forget that this nation is governed by the civil secular laws, not their twisted and hate based version of Christianity. The Virginian Pilot has this on Judge Walker's latest ruling:
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The federal judge who overturned California's same-sex marriage ban has more bad news for the measure's sponsors: he not only is unwilling to keep gay couples from marrying beyond next Wednesday, he doubts the ban's backers have the right to challenge his ruling.
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Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker on Thursday rejected a request to delay his decision striking down Proposition 8 from taking effect until high courts can take up an appeal lodged by its supporters. One of the reasons, the judge said, is he's not sure the proponents have the authority to appeal since they would not be affected by or responsible for implementing his ruling.
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Walker gave opponents of same-sex marriage until Aug. 18 at 5 p.m. to get a ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on whether gay marriages should start before the court considers their broader appeal. Their lawyers filed an request asking the 9th Circuit to intervene and block the weddings on an emergency basis late Thursday.
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San Francisco Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart, who during the trial helped argue that Proposition 8 should be overturned, said that while it will not be up to Walker to decide the eligibility issue, "it's very realistic" that the 9th Circuit could reach the same conclusion.
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As previously discussed here, the Ninth Circuit would seem to have the case law precedent to readily refuse review of Judge Walker's ruling. Such a refusal could set the stage for a similar rejection of the Prop 8 supporter's efforts by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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With this setting, the time has come for Barack Obama to declare once and for all whether he is friend or foe of the LGBT community and LGBT Americans. The days of his parsing words and trying to be only half pregnant if you will are over. Having alienated so much of the activist base of his own party, Obama's continued defense of bans on gay marriage are a "deal breaker" for me and I am moving more and more towards hoping Obama has a primary challenge in the run up to the 2012 presidential election. Chris Geidner at MetroWeekly has a good analysis as to why Obama has come to a crossroads where he must put up or shut up and poses four questions that Obama must now answer. Here are highlights from Chris' article:
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The caution bred by seeing gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, who has preached about ''curing'' homosexuality, on the campaign trail and Pastor Rick Warren, who endorsed Proposition 8, at the inauguration turned into suspicion or even distrust. This was seen many times, most clearly in the lackluster LGBT response to the Obama administration's action on hospital visitation and the animosity in some corners to the certification language in the ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' compromise amendment.
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Over the course of the next two or three months, however, marriage – whether Obama wants to deal with it or not – is very much going to be an issue for the Obama administration. What's more, Obama did not hold and, from Axelrod's comments, continues not to hold the view that most LGBT Americans and liberal activists wish he held.
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The way in which Obama handles the appeals of these [DOMA]cases is likely to have a long-lasting, if not permanent, effect on his relationship with the LGBT community. As was clear at the LGBT media meeting with Barnes, communication – or the lack thereof – will be key. But, substance must underlie that communication if it is to be effective.
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In addressing these cases, four substantive questions to be answered by the administration are:
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Will the Justice Department appeal the decisions in Gill and Massachusetts, thus continuing to defend the validity of Section 3 of DOMA in the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals?
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Will Obama take an individual position on the constitutionality of DOMA, and what is it?
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Will Obama take an individual position on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, and what is it?
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Will the Obama administration address its views on Proposition 8 to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals through the filing of an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, brief in any appeal of Perry?
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Regardless of whether Obama or Axelrod believe or want it to be so, two judges in three lawsuits have put same-sex marriage front and center on the national stage. Pretending it not to be so is no answer, and failing to communicate more effectively and substantively about the administration's actions and Obama's positions regarding same-sex marriage could be disastrous.
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Although Obama may say he no longer favors legalizing same-sex marriages, he has opposed restrictions on those marriages as discriminatory and promised to work toward equality for same-sex couples.
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I and many, many others in the LGBT community are watching and waiting. If Obama continues to throw us under the bus again, he's likely lost my support permanently - he lost my trust long before now. It's up to him to prove that he's not just another cynical, lying politician who has played the LGBT community for a bunch of suckers.