Wednesday January 27, 2010
Emotional Prop 8 Trial Draws to an End
By Kathleen Gilbert
SAN FRANCISCO, California, January 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Lawyers defending the California constitution’s definition of marriage in federal court are wrapping up testimony today after weeks of wrangling over theories surrounding marriage, sexuality, procreation, and the law’s involvement in all three.
Trial testimony is expected to end today with the witness of David Blankenhorn, founder of the Institute for American Values, who argued today and yesterday that extending the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples would undermine the procreative understanding of legal marriage and lead to the further disintegration of the institution.
Although gay “marriage” advocates argued in the trial that their cause lacked political support, both California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown refused to defend the marriage definition California voters enshrined in the state constitution last November. Thus, the defense of Perry v. Schwarzenegger depended solely on the legal teams of Cooper & Kirk, the Alliance Defense Fund, and ProtectMarriage.com, as Schwarzenegger’s and Brown’s lawyers literally sat on the sidelines.
Opponents of Proposition 8 rested their case Monday, after two weeks of testimony ADF attorneys characterized on their website as “emotional appeals, persecution of religious beliefs, and experts who were unraveled” by cross-examinations.
Topics that were addressed during the proceedings ranged from the impact of religious beliefs on marriage law, the origins of homosexuality, the impact of male and female parental influences on children, marriage’s fundamental relationship to children and child-bearing, and whether the definition of marriage between a man and a woman amounted to a form of “discrimination” against homosexuals.
Reports from both sides recounted sometimes emotional, sometimes bizarre exchanges in the courtroom.
On Friday, plaintiffs brought psychology expert Dr. Gregory Herek to the stand to argue that homosexuality is an inherent trait equivalent to race or sex as a source of potential civil rights discrimination. Prop. 8 lawyers rebutted the testimony by pointing to a string of scientific evidence indicating that, in fact, homosexuality is changeable and not inherent. Herek was forced to acknowledge that he didn’t know whether sexual orientation has a biological origin.
“This entire trial has been little more than an attempt by activists advancing the homosexual legal agenda to use emotion and sympathy in order to convince the court that marriage is unconstitutional,” stated ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks.
ADF says gay “marriage” advocates at one point called a witness, Mr. Ryan Kendall, who had no knowledge of Proposition 8 and wasn’t even a California resident – but merely appeared in court to announce that he was homosexual and had had a negative experience with parents who tried to convert him to heterosexuality.
The lawyers also reported the testimony of Dr. Gary M. Segura, a professor of political science from Stanford, who argued on Thursday that religion stood in the way of those who want to redefine marriage from gaining political power. Yet Segura, they say, acknowledged that gay “marriage” supporters hurt their own image in the wake of Proposition 8 by expressing discontent through threats, harassment, intimidation, violence, and property damage on a large scale.
“Clearly, those who are demanding tolerance have no tolerance for the values and beliefs of those across this country who have voted to uphold marriage in 31 of 31 states,” wrote Nimocks.
“Rather, it has become clear that the plaintiffs’ desire is to force all Americans to forfeit the core of their democratic rights by allowing a small group of wealthy activists to impose their will on not only a state, but the entire nation.”
The ADF’s running commentary on the Proposition 8 trial can be viewed here.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Prop. 8 Trial Began Monday: “Roe v. Wade” of Marriage Battle
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10011109.html