Supporters of California's gay marriage
ban, Proposition 8, are appealing a ruling that upheld a gay judge's
decision declaring the ban unconstitutional, Reuters reported.
Last month, U.S. District Judge James
Ware ruled against a motion filed by Protect Marriage, the coalition
of socially conservative groups defending the law, asking him to
invalidate Judge Vaughn Walker's August, 2010 ruling overturning the
2008 voter-approved ban because Walker has since acknowledged that
he's gay and in a ten-year relationship with a physician.
The 67-year-old Walker acknowledged
that he's gay after he retired from the bench.
Ware rejected lawyers' arguments that
Walker should have recused himself because he's in a same-sex
relationship and stood to personally benefit from the verdict. Ware
said Walker's sexual orientation did not create a conflict of
interest and upheld his successor's ruling.
Lawyers representing the two gay
couples challenging Prop 8 labeled the legal tactic a “smear
campaign.”
“The only thing surprising about this
development is doing so in the face of such a well-reasoned opinion,”
said attorney Matthew McGill.