The LA Times, along with Fox News, ABC News and others, has mentioned that Judge Walker is a gay man.  The story was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, who described it as an "open secret" – apparently in the San Francisco gay community, as to the rest of the world it was not known.  Apparently the San Francisco Bar Association is having second thoughts, weirdly castigating the LA Times for reporting on Judge Walker's background.

Our view:  Judge Walker was ruling on rights that potentially affect him potentially personally, financially. The litigants were entitled to know, and he ought to have let them know.

More importantly, if the press is going to widely portray Judge Walker as a Reagan conservative, it is certainly relevant to evaluating his ruling that he is also a gay man living in San Francisco. People will make different judgments about its relevance.  But the American people are entitled to know the facts.

Read the letter to the LA Times from SF Bar President Arturo Gonzalez.