A new week and a new look! Over the weekend we launched the new version of Whatisyourgay.com including our new logo designed by Jeff. We would like to thank Jeff for his generosity and time. We hope
that you all enjoy the new brighter color scheme and encourage you to let us know what you think!
Today marked the beginning of the third week in the Prop. 8 trial. I have to say that while the Courage Campaign live blogging is wonderful, it sure makes for a lot of reading. Being unemployed at the moment I have plenty of spare time and have done the reading, but so that you don’t have to, here are my views of the case thus far. (Note: I don’t have a law degree so some of the court history is lost on me, but I do my best). If you don’t wish to read the long version, jump down to the fourth paragraph for the quick version.
Today the defense (protectmarriage.com) kicked off the festivities by trying to have their cake and eat it too. Throughout the trial the defense attorneys have been fighting tooth and nail to keep campaign documents and advertisements from being presented in court. Again today they were seemingly unsuccessful in keeping all but a select few out of the court. Much of the documentation that was entered today was showing that religious groups from many faiths and from all over the country came together to give Protectmarriage.com money and other recourses to help pass Proposition 8. It was interesting to see that in many of the email excerpts presented, the religious groups did not want to be identified in the campaign and instead wanted Protectmarriage.com to take the credit.
After the evidence was admitted the defense called their first witness of the trial (thus ended two weeks worth of plaintiff (the guys who want gay marriage) witnesses testimony). The witness was professor Kenneth Miller. The defense set him up as an expert on Gay and Lesbian political issues in California specifically and on a national level more broadly. Miller is being used to show that the LGBT community has significant power in the political system and is therefore not a vulnerable group. My understanding is that historically the courts have protected vulnerable groups. Miller says that because there are so many corporations, celebrities and groups such as labor unions supporting the LGBT community that the LGBT community is not a vulnerable group. This is the opposite of what the plaintiffs were demonstrating in the past two weeks.
Once the defense was done with their questions it was attorney David Boies’ turn from some cross-examination. In short Boies tore Miller apart and made him look a fool. I don’t think that view is in any way impacted by the fact that I am an ardent supporter of gay marriage. Boies simply did a great job proving that Miller was in fact not the expert that the defense had touted him to be. Miller who was supposedly an expert on Gay and Lesbian political matters did not know even basic information (what the Mattachine Society was for example) about the LGBT movement and was proved a fool many times over. Boies at one point even got Miller to admit that DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) and DADT (Don’t Ask Don’t Tell) are official, legalized discrimination.
To summarize, the plaintiffs says that the LGBT community is a vulnerable group and needs the protection of the courts from public opinion. The defense is making the argument that the LGBT community has considerable political power and therefore is not a vulnerable group. In today’s cross-examination David Boies pretty much shut down the legitimacy of the testimony provided by the defense’s expert witness professor Kenneth Miller.
My analysis thus far is that the odds of Judge Walker upholding Proposition 8 are pretty slim based on the arguments put forth by the defense up to this point. Some in the blogosphere are saying that Protectmarriage.com is looking to lose this one so that they can claim the courts are activists and play the victim. Others seem to fear that if /when Proposition 8 is struck down that members of the LGBT community will be targeted for hate crimes in larger numbers. One thing remains; either way this case is going to be appealed to the Supreme Court, and if they do take it I am not sure how the LGBT community will fair. Thus far the Supreme Court has denied broadcasting of the Prop. 8 hearings in a 5 to 4 ruling right down party lines, and last week (again down party lines) the justices decided to allow corporations unfettered access to political campaigns. If this trend continues I fear that gay marriage may be defeated, but you never know until you try.
Stay tuned for more info about this case in the coming days, an update on the “Kill the Gay’s” bill in Uganda, and more from Andrew’s interview with Marty.
December 7, 2010
Over the course of yesterday while I was working I kept an eye on one of the most divisive issues of my generation. Should same-sex marriage be legal? I realize that this court case is playing out in California, but as we know, the decisions made in these courts will become precedent that could help or hinder the march toward equality throughout the country.;)
