In the wake of his ruling overturning Proposition 8's ban on same-sex marriage, Judge Vaughn Walker's sexuality is now the subject of a handful of conservative commentators in statements issued today.

During the Prop. 8 trial and until now, they have refrained from discussing Walker's sexual orientation as relevant to the case.

No more.

In a Fox News opinion piece, Catholic law professor Gerard Bradley fired the first shot across the bow in a column titled, “Why Has Media Ignored Judge's Possible Bias In California's Gay Marriage Case?”

If Judge Walker was in a committed relationship, Bradley wrote, “then he might wish or even expect to wed should same-sex marriage become legally available in California. This raises an important and serious question about his fitness to preside over the case.”

Other reports pointed out Walker’s identity as a gay man in the course of criticizing his decision.

The National Organization for Marriage, a group that opposes same sex nuptials, directed journalists to a commentator who criticized Walker and the Prop. 8 ruling. On the group’s web site, Bishop Harry Jackson called the Prop. 8 decision the work of “an openly gay federal judge who has misread history and the Constitution to impose his San Francisco views on the American people.”

In another statement, NOM Chairman Maggie Gallagher, made a similar point: “Here we have an openly gay (according to the San Francisco Chronicle) federal judge substituting his views for those of the American people,” said Gallagher.

The San Francisco Chronicle first reported that Judge Walker is gay in February, and other outlets have also reported it, but the fact did not draw criticism at the time.

Mentions that Walker is gay also made their way in to news stories on foxnews.com and a publication called The Christian Examiner.