ABC Repeats Judge: Gay Marriage Opponents Driven by 'Fear'

It was as if Judge Vaughn Walker was applying to write broadcast news copy with his decision overturning California's ban on same-sex marriage. And ABC's Terry Moran was more than happy to air it.

“Voters, [Walker] said, were driven by nothing more than a fear or unarticulated dislike of same-sex couples,” Moran reported on ABC's “World News with Diane Sawyer” August 4.

Moran's segment featured footage and photographs of celebrations and gay marriage ceremonies. He offered only a cursory nod to opponents of gay marriage with a brief clip of Sen. Jeff Session, R-Ala., noting that Walker's decision was a slap in the face to the Californians who voted to defend traditional marriage.

Moran and anchor Diane Sawyer made a significant deal out of the fact that Walker's decision was the first time a federal judge has overturned a measure that had been passed by voters. Sawyer and Moran didn't mention that in every case voters have been given a say, they've rejected same-sex marriage. Proposition 8 passed in 2008 with a 52-percent majority.

Moran quoted much of Walker's “sweeping and definitive” decision, including his ruling that, “Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.”

The broadcast featured the reaction from Kristin Perry, a member of the lesbian couple who initially brought the case to court. “This decision says that we are Americans too,” Perry said, as if one's martial status affects one's citizenship in America.

Moran ended the broadcast by saying, “So far it has been a string of victories in the courts.”

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