Prop 8 trial

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Court Hearing Begins on Prop 8 Ruling by Gay Judge

Critics argue Judge Vaughn Walker should have recused himself

(Newser) - A court will decide whether to strike Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling on California’s Proposition 8 from the legal record because he is in a committed homosexual relationship, the Los Angeles Times reports. Gay marriage critic ProtectMarriage argues that because Walker was in said relationship when he struck down...

Void Prop 8 Ruling: Gay Marriage Foes

Judge's decade-long same-sex relationship a conflict of interest

(Newser) - The ruling against California's controversial Proposition 8 should be set aside, a group argued yesterday, not because the judge who ruled against it is gay—but because he's in a long-term relationship with his partner. ProtectMarriage, which sponsored the 2008 ballot initiative prohibiting gay marriage, filed a motion...

I'm the Gay Guy Whose Marriage Is Ruining Yours

Jose Fidelino is behind all those celebrity divorces

(Newser) - Jose Fidelino has a confession: He’s to blame for Al and Tipper Gore’s breakup, all seven of Larry King’s divorces, and the Sandra Bullock-Jesse James split. “No, I am not a 50-something masseuse or a tattoo model with a thing for Nazi outfits,” he writes...

Schwarzenegger: Start Gay Marriages

Asks judge to let weddings resume without delay

(Newser) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who twice vetoed legislation that would have legalized same-sex marriage, has surprised gay rights supporters by urging a federal judge to allow gay couples to resume marrying in the state without further delay. Lawyers for Schwarzenegger, Attorney General Jerry Brown, two gay couples and the city...

Calif. Ruling Today on Gay Right to Marriage

But decision will surely be appealed

(Newser) - A federal judge will make a major ruling today on whether or not gay marriage is a constitutionally guaranteed right. Judge Vaughn R. Walker, a George H.W. Bush nominee, will decide whether California’s Proposition 8 violates the equal protection guarantee in the US Constitution, based on a 2½...

Prop 8 Backers Try to Un-Marry 18K Gay Couples

They want to allow governments, businesses to treat them as unwed

(Newser) - With the Proposition 8 trial entering its final stages in California, backers of the gay marriage ban are asking the judge to revoke all state recognition of the 18,000 gay couples who got married in the brief time it was legal. Doing so would honor “the expressed will...

Judge Hearing Prop 8 Case Is Gay
Judge Hearing Prop 8 Case
Is Gay

Judge Hearing Prop 8 Case Is Gay

Not that there's anything wrong with that ... at least for now

(Newser) - The judge who will rule on the constitutionality of California’s gay marriage ban is gay. Vaughn Walker, who drew the assignment at random, has a reputation as a conservative and libertarian. Gay activists say his sexual orientation isn't an issue, but a rep for the group that sponsored the...

Prop 8 Trial Is on YouTube
 Prop 8 Trial Is on YouTube 
RE-ENACTED, THAT IS

Prop 8 Trial Is on YouTube

Filmmakers use transcripts, reports, blogs in recreation

(Newser) - Though the Supreme Court kept California’s gay-marriage trial off YouTube, some enterprising filmmakers have fixed that. Using court transcripts and various reports of the proceedings, they’ve put 12 “episodes” of the Prop 8 trial on the Internet, using Hollywood actors (including Oscar nominee Tess Harper) to play...

Gay-Marriage Foes Rest; Case Goes to Judge
Gay-Marriage Foes Rest; Case Goes to Judge
PROP 8 TRIAL

Gay-Marriage Foes Rest; Case Goes to Judge

Walker will deliberate; closing arguments in March or April

(Newser) - The first federal case to decide if the US Constitution prevents states from stopping same-sex weddings came to an anti-climatic break today, with the defense resting its case after nearly 12 days of wide-ranging testimony on the meaning of marriage, the nature of sexual orientation, and the role of religion...

US Marriage So Weak, Opening to Gays Will Kill It: Witness

Polygamy will follow, Prop 8 supporter adds

(Newser) - The institution of marriage is so weak in the US that opening it to same-sex couples will likely kill it completely—and perhaps even lead shortly thereafter to legalized polygamy, a supporter of California’s ban on gay marriage testified today. David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values...

Gay-Marriage Foe Sticks to Views on Pedophilia
Gay-Marriage Foe Sticks
to Views on Pedophilia
PROP 8 TRIAL

Gay-Marriage Foe Sticks to Views on Pedophilia

Allowing marriage would lead to lower consent age for teens

(Newser) - A proponent of California's same-sex marriage ban testified today that he thinks gays are more likely to be pedophiles and that allowing them to wed would lead to efforts to lower the age at which teenagers can legally have sex with adults. Lawyers seeking to overturn Proposition 8 called Hak-Shing...

Mormon Church Aimed to Cover Tracks on Marriage Ban
Mormon Church Aimed to Cover Tracks on Marriage Ban
PROP 8 TRIAL

Mormon Church Aimed to Cover Tracks on Marriage Ban

Directed funds to outside organization

(Newser) - The Mormon church wanted its members to support the 2008 effort to ban same-sex marriage in California, but urged they do it through an outside organization to give the leadership “plausible deniability,” according to documents released today in the Proposition 8 trial in San Francisco. The Catholic church...

Pol: Anti-Gay Marriage Stance 'Grounded in Prejudice'
Pol: Anti-Gay Marriage Stance 'Grounded in Prejudice'
PROP 8 TRIAL

Pol: Anti-Gay Marriage Stance 'Grounded in Prejudice'

San Diego mayor outlines his switch on issue

(Newser) - The mayor of San Diego today told the judge hearing the case against California’s gay-marriage ban that he’d changed his stance on the issue because he came to see that “the decisions I made were grounded in prejudice.” Jerry Sanders says becoming a supporter of the...

Gay Marriage Worth Millions to California: Economist
Gay Marriage Worth Millions to California: Economist 
PROP 8 TRIAL

Gay Marriage Worth Millions to California: Economist

Wedding spending, lower health costs help city, he says at trial

(Newser) - The Proposition 8 trial took a break from intangibles like constitutional rights and discrimination yesterday to focus on cold, hard economic facts: Gay marriage is a moneymaker, argued San Francisco’s top economist. Because married people are on average healthier and wealthier than singles, legalizing gay marriage would reduce health...

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