January 11, 2010
Ted Olson to Make Opening Statement in Prop. 8 Trial
Trial on Unconstitutionality of Prop. 8 Begins in U.S. District Court; Plaintiffs To Testify First
SAN FRANCISCO — January 11, 2010 — The federal trial over the unconstitutionality of Proposition 8 will begin Monday, January 11 with an opening statement by attorney Theodore Olson, who with David Boies is leading the legal team assembled by the American Foundation for Equal Rights to litigate the case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Opening statements will be followed by testimony from Kris Perry, Sandy Stier, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, who comprise two couples who wish to be married but who were denied marriage licenses because of Proposition 8.
Available info: please contact press@equalrightsfoundation.org
NOTE: POLICE OR COURTHOUSE CREDENTIALED MEDIA ONLY
• For courthouse access information, visit: https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/09cv2292/
• For information about remote viewing locations, visit: http://www.equalrightsfoundation.org/news/watch-prop-8-trial-live/
• Visit http://www.equalrightsfoundation.org for updates regarding potential broadcast of trial, photos, any available footage, court filings, live tweets from the courthouse and more.
• Plaintiff’s case is outlined at http://www.equalrightsfoundation.org/legal-filings/plaintiffs-trial-brief/
Olson and Boies notably represented George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore respectively in the 2000 Supreme Court case that decided the presidency.
At trial, Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, will weigh witness testimony, a multitude of documents and other evidence, and arguments presented by some of the nation’s most distinguished attorneys.
“This unequal treatment of gays and lesbians denies them the basic liberties and equal protection under the law that are guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the plaintiffs’ suit states.
According to the suit, Prop. 8:
• Violates the Due Process Clause by impinging on fundamental liberties.
• Violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Singles out gays and lesbians for a disfavored legal status, thereby creating a category of “second-class citizens.”
• Discriminates on the basis of gender.
• Discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.
Olson and Boies will also point out the “crazy quilt” of separate, unequal and unconstitutional classifications of people that Prop. 8 has compelled the California government to create:
• Opposite-sex couples who have full marriage rights
• Same-sex couples who have no marriage rights
• Same-sex couples married between May and Nov. 2008 whose current marriages are recognized, but who will be unable to remarry if widowed or divorced
• Same-sex couples married in other states who may petition California for recognition.
The defendants have the burden of demonstrating that Prop. 8 is narrowly drawn to serve a compelling government interest. Olson and Boies will demonstrate at trial, however, that the initiative fails to advance even a single legitimate interest. Tellingly, when asked by Chief Judge Walker at an Oct. 14 hearing to identify any harm to opposite-sex marriage that would result from marriage equality, the defendants’ attorney answered “I don’t know.”
The case against Prop. 8 has proceeded with uncommon speed toward trial. In an order issued after the first hearing in the case, Chief Judge Walker stated: “Given that serious questions are raised in these proceedings … the court is inclined to proceed directly and expeditiously to the merits of plaintiffs’ claims. … The just, speedy and inexpensive determination of these issues would appear to call for proceeding promptly to trial.”
“More than 30 years ago, the United States Supreme Court recognized that marriage is one of the basic rights of man,” the suit states, referring to the Court’s decision in Loving v. Virginia.
Chad Griffin, board president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, noted that near the time when the Supreme Court struck down interracial marriage bans with its 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision, a Gallup poll found that 73 percent of Americans did not approve of interracial marriage.
While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown were named defendants in their official capacities, along with other state and county officials, Prop. 8 is being defended in court by a prominent conservative organization, the Alliance Defense Fund. Gov. Schwarzenegger earlier filed a brief that did not dispute the unconstitutionality of Prop. 8, and called for swift action by the courts. Attorney General Brown, the state’s chief law enforcement officer, filed a brief agreeing with the plaintiffs’ position that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional.
The ACLU, Lambda Legal, and National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) are participating in the case as amici (friends of the court) in support of the plaintiffs. The City and County of San Francisco, led by City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart, are supporting the plaintiffs’ team as co-counsel, with a specific focus on the negative impact Prop. 8 has on government services and budgets. Herrera and Stewart led the legal battle toward the California Supreme Court decision that struck down California’s previous same-sex marriage ban.
The American Foundation for Equal Rights Advisory Board, which was announced January 9th, includes Julian Bond, Lt. Dan Choi, Margaret Hoover, Dolores Huerta, Cleve Jones, Stuart Milk, David Mixner, Hillary Rosen and Judy Shepard. For more information, see http://www.equalrightsfoundation.org/press-releases/american-foundation-for-equal-rights-names-advisory-board/.
Olson is a former U.S. Solicitor General and is widely regarded as one of the nation’s preeminent constitutional lawyers, and has argued 55 cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. Boies ranks as one of the leading trial lawyers of his generation, having secured landmark victories for clients in numerous areas of the law. This is the first time they have served alongside each other as co-counsel.
Kris Perry and Sandy Stier have been together for nine years and are the parents of four boys. Perry is Executive Director of First 5 California, a state agency that promotes education and health for children under five. She holds a BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz and an MSW from San Francisco State University. Stier is Information Technology Director for the Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services Agency. She is originally from Iowa and is a graduate of the University of Iowa. Perry and Stier first tried to marry in 2004, after the City of San Francisco began issuing licenses. They live in Berkeley, CA.
Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo have been together for eight years. Katami is a fitness expert and business owner who graduated from Santa Clara University before receiving his graduate degree from UCLA. Zarrillo is the General Manager of a theater exhibition company. A native of New Jersey, Zarrillo graduated from Montclair State University. Having wanted to marry each other for more than two years, they considered options including traveling to other states for a “civil union,” but felt any alternative fell short of marriage. They live in Burbank, CA.
They have issued the following joint statement: “We and our relationships should be treated equally under the law. Our goal is to advance the cause of equality for all Americans, which is the promise that makes this nation so great.”
Source: American Foundation for Equal Rights
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Alliance Defense Fund, California, Civil Rights, Events, Marriage, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, Press Releases, Proposition 8
December 5, 2009
1. Racial issues do not exist. Negroes and White People worked out all that stuff as soon as Jesus showed up, and it doesn’t matter that those two black kids at Riverdale High have absolutely no grasp on their heritage, their oppression, or their naturals, for that matter;
2. The downfall of civilization as we know it is due to Mike and Carol Brady sharing a double bed in 1972;
3. You’ll never need Extenze® as long as your boyfriend is Jesus!
First read “A History of Christian Archie Comics.”
Then see Spire Christian Comics.
For extra added fun, print out all Spire Christian Comics, Wite-Out® the dialogue balloons, and make up your own stories!
(Trust me — the clicks are worth it.)
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Christianity, Humor, Radical Religious Right, Random Stupidity, Religion & Spirituality
September 8, 2009
Of course, to hear her tell it, she was fired for — gasp! — being a Christian. Oh, poor little persecuted martyr! Jesus, Mary, and Carrie Prejean, whatever shall we do???
Soap Star: “I Was Fired for Religious Beliefs”
One Life to Live actress Patricia Mauceri says she was axed from the soap earlier this year because her religious beliefs were at odds with a planned gay story line.
The actress tells Fox News it wasn’t the gay plotline she objected to, but rather her character’s handling of the issue. A devout Christian, Mauceri says she objected to the way the writers wanted her character — a deeply religious, Latina mother — to react to her son coming out of the closet.
Mauceri says it was those objections that got her fired — she says her character would not have been accepting. …
Mauceri says she is exploring her legal options.
Your “legal options”? You either do your job as you’re told, or you get sacked — or you quit. That’s the way it works in the real world, Missy.
More imagined persecution at the link.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Celebrities, Christianity, Homophobia, Random Stupidity, Television
‘Sanity & a Smile’ and an Outpouring of Rage
The [Washington] Post recently featured a story by reporter Monica Hesse that ran on the front of the Style section while she was on vacation. The day before returning, she logged on to check e-mails — and wept.
She was buried by an avalanche of messages angrily attacking her lengthy Aug. 28 profile of Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the group leading the fight against legalization of same-sex marriage.
Hesse was stunned. She had expected to hear from anti-gay-marriage conservatives who might view the story as “snide.”
Instead, she heard from liberals who support gay marriage, accusing her of writing a puff piece about someone they believe fosters prejudice and intolerance. The story was shallow and one-sided, they complained.
Scores also contacted the ombudsman. It’s “one of the biggest pieces of crap The Post has published in recent memory,” wrote District resident William Grant II. “What’s next, a piece on how a KKK leader is just ’someone next door’ and ‘really a nice person’?” …
Much more at the link, including quotes from our friend Fred Karger.
Oh, and Hesse is bisexual. And she still doesn’t get it.
Keep weeping, Monica, until you do.
You have no quarter here.
Harsh? Tough. I’m tired of this. Tired of capitulaters. Tired of apologists. Tired of morons-in-denial — from “gay” Republicans to spineless Democrats — who think if we just “reach out” and make nice, the haters will be nice back.
“Reaching out” gets you one thing: your hand lopped off at the wrist.
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: Civil Rights, Marriage, Media, National Organization for Marriage/Maggie Gallagher, Random Stupidity
Letter Sent to Maine Election Officials Warning of Money Laundering by National Organization for Marriage (NOM) & Others
LOS ANGELES, CA / AUGUSTA, ME — August 13, 2009 — Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger sent a letter today warning top Maine election officials of possible money laundering by opponents of same-sex marriage.
The organization trying to overturn Maine’s same-sex marriage law, Stand for Marriage PAC recently turned in 100,000 signatures to place the question on the November ballot. These gay marriage foes hope to repeal LD 1020 — the law passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor allowing same-sex marriage in Maine.
Of the $343,689.50 raised to pay the Brighton, Michigan-based National Petition Management, Inc. to collect the signatures, only $400, or a mere .001 of that total came from individuals. The remaining $343,289.50 was given by various religious organizations and James Dobson’s Focus on the Family. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) gave nearly half of that total, $160,000. The remainder came from Catholic organizations ($150,000) and James Dobson’s Focus on the Family ($31,000).
“It sure looks like they are trying to hide the donors in their latest effort to strip away marriage equality,” said Fred Karger. “There is no way these organizations like NOM and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland had all this money sitting in their treasuries (except for possibly Focus on the Family). They went out and raised it expressly for this campaign. It’s very expensive to hire these signature gathering firms to collect 100,000 signatures in a short period of time.”
Let the Money Laundering Begin
Read more »»»
Posted by: Sapphocrat
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Filed Under: California, Catholicism, Civil Rights, Crime, Focus on the Family/James Dobson, Hawaii, Homophobia, LDS/Mormons, Maine, Marriage, National Organization for Marriage/Maggie Gallagher, Press Releases, Proposition 8, Radical Religious Right
