SAN FRANSISCO— A federal judge is questioning the purpose Prop 8 proponents have against gay marriage.
U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker refused to dismiss a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Proposition 8, the California marriage ban that was passed by voters in 2008. Charles Cooper, the lawyer sponsored by Prop 8 proponents, urged Walker to dismiss the case, however according to Walker, Cooper could not cite an adequate argument of how allowing same-sex couples to marry would undermine the marriage of male-female couples.
“What is the harm to the procreation purpose you outlined of allowing same-sex couples to get married?” Walker asked.
“My answer is, I don’t know. I don’t know,” Cooper answered.
Cooper later clarified his answer to assure he was not defeated.
“There are things we can’t know, that’s my point,” Cooper said. “The people of California are entitled to step back and let the experiment unfold in Massachusetts and other places, to see whether our concerns about the health of marital unions have either been confirmed or perhaps they have been completely assuaged.”
At the end of the hearing, Walker insisted that evidence be presented in trial by Cooper’s team of how same-sex marriages would harm opposite sex marriages.
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-Simon Husted
