Love Honor Cherish:
Today, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been considering an appeal from a trial court ruling declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional for more than a year, ruled that the videotapes of the trial will continue to be withheld from the public.
The trial examined in depth each of the arguments made by the opponents of same sex marriage and the true motives of Prop 8's proponents for launching a harmful and deceptive campaign to deprive gay and lesbian couples of their recognized constitutional right to marry. The hollow nature of their arguments would be dramatically brought alive to the American people if they could see the testimony for themselves. Prop 8's proponents have fought tooth and nail to prevent that and, today, the Ninth Circuit has continued to prevent the videotapes from being made public.
Love Honor Cherish Executive Director Eric Harrison stated, "Although the court's ruling focused on Judge Walker's use of the videotapes, it does not alter the fact that, on an issue of this importance to loving same-sex couples and all those who care about equality, everyone should be allowed to see the testimony that Judge Walker relied upon to issue his groundbreaking ruling."
This is only the first of several decisions in the Perry case that the three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit will make. The panel must also decide if the proponents of Prop 8 have "standing" to bring the appeal, whether the trial judge, the Hon. Vaughn Walker, should have recused himself from the case because of his own sexual orientation, and, then, whether Judge Walker correctly concluded that Prop 8 violated the federal constitution.
If the panel decides that Judge Walker was right, it must also decide when to lift the stay on his decision and allow same sex couples to marry once again in California. The court gave no indication when it will decide any of these issues. And, of course, the losing side will likely continue to appeal to the Ninth Circuit en banc and all the way to the US Supreme Court where the final outcome is uncertain.
As Harrison explained, “We remain confident that the Ninth Circuit will find that Prop 8 violates the United States Constitution and affirm Judge Walker’s ruling. In the meantime, we must continue to work in every avenue to restore the right to marry in California. Loving gay and lesbian couples continue to be denied their fundamental rights and our state’s constitution continues to send a message that gay and lesbian Californians are second class citizens.”
Love Honor Cherish has called for a “backup plan” to ensure that, either through the court case or the ballot, same sex couples will be able to marry no later than November 7, 2012. To that end, LHC is circulating a ballot proposition that would repeal Prop 8, while protecting religious freedom. LHC plans to collect the necessary signatures and be ready to submit them if the court case is not successful and marriage equality is not restored in California by April 2012.
Polling has demonstrated that the majority of Californians now support repeal. “It is the moral obligation of every LGBT rights organization in California to do everything possible to end Prop 8 now,” said LHC’s Executive Director, Eric Harrison. “If we’re not prepared, we will have done a tremendous disservice to loving gay and lesbian couples, their families, and our youth.” LHC calls on all Californians to join this effort.
NCLR:
The court’s decision to keep the people from seeing this public record of one of the most important trials in American history is extremely disappointing. As those lucky enough to have watched the trial saw, the defenders of Prop 8 were unable to offer a shred of evidence to support it, while the plaintiffs presented a mountain of compelling reasons to strike down this unjust and damaging law. The public deserves the same chance to see the facts for themselves.
AFER:
In a court of law, where only truth and facts matter, the evidence was irrefutable. Witness after witness testified that marriage strengthens our society and that denying gay and lesbian couples their fundamental freedom to marry causes direct harm to them and their families. Even the star witness for the anti-marriage proponents admitted that we, as a nation, would be more American the moment gay and lesbian couples are able to marry.
Regrettably, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided not to unseal the video record of the historic twelve-day public trial of Prop. 8.
AFER will continue to do everything we can to make sure that the public sees the facts of what happened in that courtroom.
Every day, our team works to educate the public by telling personal stories of gay and lesbian Americans and their families and actively corrects misinformation about the myths of allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. In partnership with today’s most effective issue leaders and organizational allies, AFER is changing the debate and changing public opinion.
Our newest endeavor brings the issue of marriage equality to areas where we need it most. In partnership with Broadway Impact, community and college theaters across the country will perform Dustin Lance Black’s new play, “8,” to spark dialogue, understanding and action. Based on the actual court transcripts and moving interviews with AFER’s plaintiffs, the play is an unprecedented account of what happened when discrimination was put on trial.
It speaks volumes that the proponents of Proposition 8 spent millions on a political campaign to publicize their views, yet they have done everything they can to stop the public from seeing the weak case they put on at trial. They know the videotape would expose their baseless campaign of fear and let the public see the powerful evidence we submitted showing that Proposition 8 flatly violates the United States Constitution. That’s why they fought so hard to keep the tapes secret.
In the coming weeks, the Ninth Circuit will rule on the merits of our case that found Proposition 8 unconstitutional. It is my hope that the Court will uphold the District Court ruling and stand up for the freedom to marry.
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