Reagan-Era Judge Skewers Walker/Van Hollen Gay Marriage Argument

Scott Walker, and the state Attorney General who obstructed John Doe I by declining to assist federal investigators, have been busy the last few months making the ideological case with taxpayer funds that there is room in Wisconsin's Constitution for discrimination against same sex couples.

So the nation got a good look today at the shallow vindictiveness of these GOP leaders - - Walker and Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen - - who are running Wisconsin into the ground: 

Chicago — A three-judge federal appeals panel on Tuesday closely questioned Wisconsin and Indiana's bans on same-sex marriage, with one judge calling parts of the states' arguments "absurd" and "ridiculous."

"These people and their adopted children are harmed by your law," Judge Richard Posner said of gay and lesbian couples who are barred from getting married. 

The Wisconsin State Journal's account was even more pointed:

Judge Richard Posner, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, was dismissive when Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Timothy Samuelson repeatedly pointed to 'tradition' as the underlying justification for barring gay marriage.

"It was tradition to not allow blacks and whites to marry — a tradition that got swept away," Posner said. Prohibition of same sex marriage, he said, is "a tradition of hate ... and savage discrimination."

Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama each appointed one of the other two judges on the panel.