The LA Times, of all places, editorializes: "California's top public lawyer and its chief executive have an obligation to defend the laws of the state whether they like them or not, and that includes Proposition 8."  Gov. Schwarzenegger and AG Jerry Brown: Do your job. Defend Prop 8.  Read more.

Over at the Ruth Institute blog, Dr. J points out “the dog that didn’t bark” -- glaring omissions in Judge Walker’s Prop 8 ruling that Chuck Cooper nailed him on in the petition for a stay at the 9^th Circuit.

Sherlock Holmes once famously said, “Watson, I call to your attention the curious fact of the dog barking in the night.” “But Holmes, there was no dog barking in the night.” “That is the curious fact.”

It is a curious fact that Judge Walker did not discuss any of the previous cases that deal with the constitutional questions before him. Chuck Cooper puts it this way, in his Emergency Motion seeking a stay of Judge Walker’s judgement invalidating Prop 8:  “Given that the district court did not cite a single case that had addressed these issues, one might think the court was deciding issues of first impression on a blank slate. Nothing could be further from the truth. . . .”

Read more.

Two liberal law professors from UC-Davis School of Law take a look at preliminary briefs filed on the "standing issue" by Chuck Cooper (lawyer for Prop 8) and San Francisco.  So far, they say, San Francisco is losing.

The LA Times, along with Fox News, ABC News and others, has mentioned that Judge Walker is a gay man.  The story was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, who described it as an "open secret" – apparently in the San Francisco gay community, as to the rest of the world it was not known.  Apparently the San Francisco Bar Association is having second thoughts, weirdly castigating the LA Times for reporting on Judge Walker's background.

Our view:  Judge Walker was ruling on rights that potentially affect him potentially personally, financially. The litigants were entitled to know, and he ought to have let them know.

More importantly, if the press is going to widely portray Judge Walker as a Reagan conservative, it is certainly relevant to evaluating his ruling that he is also a gay man living in San Francisco. People will make different judgments about its relevance.  But the American people are entitled to know the facts.

Read the letter to the LA Times from SF Bar President Arturo Gonzalez.

Kelly Ayotte opposes gay marriage.  Bill Binnie supports gay marriage.  But the Union Leader just endorsed a third candidate, Ovide Lamontagne, who called for a federal marriage amendment after Judge Walker's act of judicial tyranny. New polls show Binnie's campaign collapsing, and Lamontagne now second--in double digits--behind Ayotte.  More evidence that NH politicians understand marriage is a real issue in this race.

We warned you: there is a coordinated effort to betray core GOP voters' values by GOP elites in Washington.  The latest? Steve Schmidt,  former McCain campagin manager. Read more.

John McCain who actually has to get elected, remains pro-marriage, mind you.  But a network of GOP elites wants to sell out the majority of Americans--and the vast majority of Republicans.  NOM's work building an army of activists is more needed now than ever. (Sign the petition here.)  This November voters will have to prove to Washington D.C. our voices and values cannot be ignored.

As voters around the country begin to consider candidates’ positions ahead of the November elections, NOM is working to make sure voters know where their candidates stand on marriage. The latest initiative in this effort is a new radio ad airing in Minnesota, co-sponsored with the Minnesota Family Council, highlighting the positions of all three candidates for governor on the right of citizens to vote for marriage.

Help support similar efforts all across the country! Use this link to help shine the light of truth on politicians who refuse to stand for marriage!

TEXT:

Marriage in MN is under attack. A lawsuit and 5 legislative bills were filed this year to impose gay marriage. Angry gay protestors want to force this issue on us no matter what.

DFL nominee for governor Mark Dayton wants to impose same-sex marriage on Minnesota, as does independent Tom Horner. But Republican Tom Emmer wants to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

No matter your position on the definition of marriage, who should decide? Should it be backroom politicians and screaming protestors? Or should voters decide?

Tom Emmer believes that Minnesota voters should have the final say on marriage, just as voters in 31 other states have done. Mark Dayton and Tom Horner say, “No vote for Minnesota.” Dayton and Horner want your vote, but they don’t want you to vote on marriage.

When the candidates for governor ask for your support, ask them if they will guarantee your right to vote on marriage.

Paid for by the Minnesota Family Council and the National Organization for Marriage.

National Organization for Marriage, 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006

First, Dede Scozzafava.  Then, Tom Campbell.  Now, New Hampshire's Bill Binnie. Another Republican learns the hard way: it's a bad idea to oppose an issue which more than 80 percent of Republicans support--and the majority of the American people.

More details from Cornerstone Action.