It was not that long ago that three judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the merits of the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage.

But, since that day, the quest to recognize gay marriages in California has taken a few twists and turns: anti-gay forces have challenged the impartiality of Judge Vaughn Walker, have vowed to appeal the adverse ruling despite being laughed out of court and, yesterday, they sought to keep a video of the trial out of view of the public.

We are all aware of the policy arguments in favor of releasing the video tape. The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the organization coordinating the pro-gay forces in the Prop 8 case, wants the videotape released to foster “integrity of the courts” and because “[i]t is difficult for people to accept what they are prohibited from observing.” Releasing the video would allow everyone to understand why Judge Walker ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional in the first place and cast aside the fear-mongering arguments of those opposed to same-sex marriage.

Full Story from Towleroad.com

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Eighteen months ago, the gay and lesbian equality movement won the war. It happened in U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s San Francisco courtroom. It was called Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which resulted in a ruling overturning Prop 8.

The evidence in that trial made crystal clear that gays and lesbians are denied full equality because of historic prejudice and fear. There is no other reason, but the problem is only 0.000001 percent of Americans actually got to see it.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an injunction banning televising or live-streaming the hearing, so I live-blogged the entire trial. It was gut-wrenching and cathartic to watch, but write as mightily as I and others did, only seeing the witnesses, the cross-examination and the facial expressions conveys the essence of that historic event.

Full Story from the Huffington Post

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In January 2010, in advance of the historic trial to determine the constitutionality of California’s ban on same-sex marriage, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped into the proceeding. The San Francisco federal judge overseeing the trial, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker, had obtained permission from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to have video of the trial streamed live over the Internet.

Gay marriage opponents filed an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court, arguing that the broadcast would create a media frenzy and intimidate expert witnesses testifying in favor of California’s ban. The high court ducked that question but barred the broadcast on narrow procedural grounds.

Judge Walker nevertheless had the trial videotaped. He told lawyers on both sides that he’d use the tape in his chambers to help him decide the case. As the trial concluded in May 2010, the judge also said the two sides could use video in closing arguments. He provided copies of the videotape to the parties under a protective order.

Full Story from Thomson Reuters

Click here for gay wedding resources in California.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook. We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.