Posner derides tradition as 'feeble' justification for gay-marriage ban, says it's 'based on hate'
Lawyers defending gay-marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin faced tough questioning in oral arguments before the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, particularly from Judge Richard Posner.
Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher was only moments into his argument when Posner jumped in, the Chicago Tribune reports. The Associated Press and Slate also had stories.
Posner noted that gay couples were adopting children and asked why their children shouldn’t have married parents. “Which do you think is better for the psychological health, for the welfare of this child: to have the married same-sex couples or the unmarried?” Posner said.
Fisher said he didn’t “feel like it’s my job to answer,” spurring Posner to interject, “I’m asking you to have an opinion.”
Posner protested when Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Timothy Samuelson said tradition justified a ban on gay marriage.
Posner called tradition a “feeble” argument. “It’s based on hate,” Posner said. “You don’t think there is a history of rather savage discrimination against homosexuals in the states and the world?”
“There was a tradition of not allowing black and whites, and, actually, other interracial couples from marrying,” Posner said. “It was a tradition. It got swept aside. Why is this tradition better?”
