DAY FOUR OF PROP. 8 TRIAL

Trial on Unconstitutionality of Prop. 8 Begins Day Four in U.S. District Court; For latest information, visit equalrightsfoundation.org

The federal trial over the unconstitutionality of Proposition 8 will continue Thursday, January 14 at 8:30 am. Today, powerful evidence was introduced that exposed the discriminatory motivations of Proposition 8, as demonstrated by campaign communications and statements by William Tam, an Official Proponent of the initiative.

Video of Tam’s deposition, which was taken on Dec. 1, 2009, was shown in court today, which included statements such as this one, from a pro-Prop. 8 email he wrote: “They lose no time in pushing the gay agenda — after legalizing same-sex marriage, they want to legalize prostitution. What will be next? On their agenda list is: legalize having sex with children.” Please see http://www.equalrightsfoundation.org/press-releases/discriminatory-motivations-of-prop-8-exposed-in-court-today/ for additional quotes and details.

Today also continued the cross-examination of George Chauncey, PhD, a professor at Yale University, who testified about the history of discrimination against gays and lesbians in the U.S., followed by Dr. Letitia Anne Peplau, Professor of Psychology at UCLA, who testified about the beneficial effects marriage can provide to a person’s health and well-being as well as the social and personal importance that is attached to marriage.

Tomorrow will continue with the testimony of, in no particular order: Dr. Edmund Egan, Chief Economist for the City and County of San Francisco, on the nature and magnitude of costs incurred by the City and County as a result of the denial of marriage to gays and lesbians; Dr. Ilan H. Meyer, Associate Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, who will testify about the stigma and prejudice gay and lesbians individuals face in society;  and Helen Zia, a lesbian author who will testify about her sexual orientation, her experiences with discrimination, and the effects of being denied the right to marry her longtime partner.

Trial opened Monday with powerful testimony from Jeff Zarrillo, Paul Katami, Sandy Stier and Kris Perry, who comprise two couples that want to get married but cannot because of Proposition 8. They were followed by experts Dr. Nancy Cott, Dr. Chauncey and Dr. Peplau, whose eminent credentials, extensive research and strong testimony combined to present compelling evidence pointing to the unconstitutionality of Prop. 8.

In response to today’s Supreme Court ruling against cameras in the courtroom Chad Griffin, Board President of the American Foundation for Equal Rights said: “Proposition 8 attacks the core of what our nation stands for — that all of us are entitled to equal protection under the law and equal treatment from the government. A trial on constitutional rights should be accessible to as many people as possible. Given the powerful evidence against Prop. 8 presented in court today, we are not surprised the initiative’s defenders sought to keep this trial as private as possible.”

The American Foundation for Equal Rights launched the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case and brought together Theodore Olson and David Boies to lead the litigation.

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