We All Have an Equal Stake

Via Andrew Sullivan:

Opponents of marriage equality attempted to get Judge Vaughn Walker's anti-Prop 8 ruling thown out on the grounds that Walker is a gay man. That argument was rejected (scribd) by Judge James Ware. Money quote from the ruling:

[I]t is inconsistent with the general principles of constitutional adjudication to presume that a member of a minority group reaps a greater benefit from application of the substantive protections of our Constitution than would a member of the majority. The fact that this is a case challenging a law on equal protection and due process grounds being prosecuted by members of a minority group does not mean that members of the minority group have a greater interest in equal protection and due process than the rest of society. In our society, a variety of citizens of different backgrounds coexist because we have constitutionally bound ourselves to protect the fundamental rights of one another from being violated by unlawful treatment. Thus, we all have an equal stake in a case that challenges the constitutionality of a restriction on a fundamental right.