In my view, his column should henceforth be titled "Faith & Intolerance" because of the vitriol he sets forth. In particular, his attack on the integrity of now-retired federal Judge Vaughn Walker is ill-placed and based not on reason but on bias and intolerance.
I seriously doubt that McManus has read Judge Walker's opinion or could state the reasons why Walker found Proposition 8 unconstitutional. Most significantly, the claim that Judge Walker erred by not recusing himself is both unfounded and untrue.
Were we to adopt McManus' reasoning, then no African-American judge could hear a case involving racial discrimination, no Jewish judge could hear a case involving anti-Semitisim, and no Christian judge could hear a case involving First Amendment issues of separation between church and state. It bears emphasis that Judge Walker's decision was reviewed and upheld by the federal appellate court. Gov. Brown was quite correct in his decision to not pursue an appeal, as was the U.S. Supreme Court's decision finding that Proposition 8 appellants lacked standing.
The clam that an injustice occurred because the will of the people was overturned is, to use McManus' word, "rot." Throughout the history of the United States we have seen the "will of the people" expressed in disastrous ways, including the approval of slavery as well as the willful oppression of Americans who happened to belong to a racial or social minority.
All of the arguments that McManus and others have against same-sex marriages are identical in substance to those previously raised justifications to ban interracial marriage. We must recall that, within our lifetime, it was a crime in some states for African-Americans and whites to marry. This "will of the people" was later found to be unconstitutional. No one could plausibly argue that the federal court's decision to invalidate these racist laws was inappropriate or wrong because it contravened the "will of the people."
The real basis for McManus' position, like so many others who preach this brand of intolerance, is that he views homosexuality as immoral. In my view, he is flatly wrong, as all of us, whether straight or gay, are God's children. Consequently, one does not have to be gay to understand that attempting to deny marriage to a class of people because of sexual orientation is biased and wrong.
Although it is not my religion, I am told that Jesus of Nazareth spoke of love and compassion for all. I would think McManus should follow this principle.