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This Week in Prop 8: Week Ending Feburary 26 Friday, 02/26/10
Stop8.org

The pins-and-needles of the Prop 8 trial continued this week with new signs that the closing arguments might be televised.

Although the dates for the closing arguments still haven't been announced, that hasn't stopped court-watchers from speculating about cameras covering the event. That speculation heated up this week when the Chronicle noticed a rule change that just might open a minute window of possibility for televising the arguments.

It's important to remember two things before you get your hopes up for an exciting video spectacle: first, this is only the tiniest sliver of a possibility that cameras will be allowed in the courtroom; and second, trials are actually pretty boring. It's the protests and rallies afterwards that are exciting. No word yet on when those might happen.

Elsewhere, the grudge against Doug Manchester is still as strong as ever: the Prop-8 supporting hotelier just lost the business of the American Psychological Association, which decided not to meet at the Manchester Hyatt for its August conference.

And the mayor of Manhattan Beach waded into the Sisyphean effort to repeat Prop 8 later this year: Mayor Mitch Ward endorsed the effort, despite the report last week that they were lagging far behind on their signature-gathering.

[Read the article or read more articles from Stop8.org.]

2 sides file pile of paperwork in Prop. 8 case Sunday, 02/28/10
SF Gate

Opposing sides in the legal battle over same-sex marriage in California have laid out their cases in writing to a federal judge, disputing the status of gays and lesbians in society, the nature of marriage, and the motives behind the ballot measure that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

[Read the article or read more articles from SF Gate.]

Prop. 8 trial closing arguments will not be televised Sunday, 02/28/10
LGBT POV

On January 15, 2010, Chief Judge Walker withdrew his previous request to include Perry et. al. v. Schwarzenegger et. al . in the Ninth Circuit's pilot program permitting broadcasting of district court proceedings in limited circumstances. On the same date, Chief Judge Kozinski approved the request to withdraw the Perry case from the program. Broadcasting closing arguments would require Chief Judge Walker to request that these arguments be included in the Ninth Circuit's pilot program and approval of that request by Chief Judge Kozinski. No such request has been made.

[Read the article or read more articles from LGBT POV.]

Prop. 8 suit closing arguments may be televised Friday, 02/26/10
SF Gate

Despite a rebuff from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Bay Area's federal judges are again proposing to allow cameras in their courtrooms, a plan that could lead to telecasting of closing arguments in a suit challenging California's ban on same-sex marriage.

The U.S. District Court in San Francisco has posted a rule change on its Web site that would allow its judges to take part in a pilot program of airing selected nonjury civil trials. The public comment period began Feb. 4 and ends Thursday.

[Read the article or read more articles from SF Gate.]

Manchester Hyatt loses more business over owner's Prop. 8 donation Friday, 02/26/10
San Diego Gay and Lesbian News

The Council of Representatives, the major legislative body of the American Psychological Association (APA), will not meet at the Manchester Hyatt Hotel in San Diego during the association's August convention.

In response to a sizable donation made to the Proposition 8 campaign by Doug Manchester, owner of the Manchester Hyatt, a number of APA divisions and members voiced concerns about APA's use of the hotel during its annual meeting.

[Read the article or read more articles from San Diego Gay and Lesbian News.]

Manhattan Beach mayor endorses the campaign to repeal Prop 8 Tuesday, 02/23/10
Examiner

Mayor Mitch Ward of Manhattan Beach, California announced today that he officially endorses Restore Equality 2010's efforts to bring marriage equality back to the ballot in 2010.

"I am fully committed to full civil rights for all California citizens," said Mayor Ward. This includes the right to marriage equality for those of us in the LGBT community."

[Read the article or read more articles from Examiner.]

Signatures, money lacking for Prop 8 repeal effort Saturday, 02/20/10
Bay Area Reporter

Despite efforts to utilize volunteers to gather 1 million signatures to put a measure on the November ballot to repeal Proposition 8, one of the grassroots groups pushing the effort has acknowledged it is well under its goals and may have to use paid signature gatherers.

However, the group, Love Honor Cherish, only reported raising a little over $19,000 during a portion of 2009, which is well under what a signature-gathering firm would charge.

In a phone interview last week, John Henning, executive director of Love Honor Cherish, said the signature gathering is going "fine," but added, "we are not meeting our daily targets, and we're trying to work to get to the point where we are meeting our daily targets."

[Read the article or read more articles from Bay Area Reporter.]

Prop. 8 judge encouraged to step down Saturday, 02/20/10
One News Now

"Well, the judge has said, 'No comment' when asked about his sexual lifestyle," explains the Liberty Counsel attorney. "I think he needs to comment. If in fact he is engaged in the homosexual lifestyle, there is a clear conflict of interest here under federal law."

[Read the article or read more articles from One News Now.]

Reality Valentines at last Wednesday, 02/17/10
SF Gate

Here in San Francisco, everyone held their collective breath when The Chronicle outed Vaughn Walker, the federal judge hearing the same-sex marriage/Proposition 8 case. Walker is gay and has a partner, meaning that if the two of them wanted to get married, the judge would be ruling on an issue in which he would have not just a general, civil rights interest but also a direct stake.

[Read the article or read more articles from SF Gate.]

San Francisco Bloggers: Come Canvass for Equality! Friday, 02/12/10
LGBT POV

Bay Area bloggers are hitting the streets this weekend to build support for marriage equality. If you can make it out, please join us at 10:00 am this Saturday in San Francisco. The canvass is a great excuse to meet and mingle with a crowd of awesome online writers, and learn about some of the work being done to restore marriage for same-sex couples in California. Non-bloggers will also be there and are highly welcome.

[Read the article or read more articles from LGBT POV.]

WWII internment ruling will impact Prop. 8 judgment Friday, 02/12/10
The Guardsman

Lower courts in California have granted suspect class status to gays and lesbians, but it remains to be seen if the 9th District will uphold that decision.

Pro-Proposition 8 witness Kenneth P. Miller, an associate professor of political science at Claremont McKenna College, testified that if political power meant the ability to get the attention of lawmakers, gays and lesbians could not be considered politically powerless.

[Read the article or read more articles from The Guardsman.]

NJ gay rights group closes its wallet Thursday, 02/11/10
365Gay

Garden State Equality has decided to play hardball. New Jersey's largest gay rights organizations has suspended donating cash to political parties.

"No political party has a record good enough on LGBT civil rights that it can rightfully claim to be entitled to our money on a party-wide basis," said Steven Goldstein, the group's chairman. "No longer will we let any political party take our money and volunteers with one hand, and slap us in the face with the other when we seek full equality."

[Read the article or read more articles from 365Gay.]

New website protesting LDS Church's involvement in Prop 8 Wednesday, 02/10/10
Examiner

Church members are protesting what the LDS Church has done. ExcommunicateTheChurch.com is a new grass-roots protest against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Organizer, Jason Beckett, stated, "When we launched the campaign, I assumed we would see people from outside the church voicing their issues, but we've seen a very strong response from active members who feel the church over stepped the bounds."

[Read the article or read more articles from Examiner.]

Countering NOM's missive on Prop 8 Judge Walker with the facts Tuesday, 02/09/10
LGBT POV

Brown is just plain wrong when it comes to Walker being one-side throughout the trial. Even before the trial began, Walker - who was randomly selected to preside - denied the attempt by LGBT groups such as Lambda Legal to intervene in the case.

Walker did allow Charles Cooper and ProtectMarriage and their legal ally, the Alliance Defense Fund, to intervene because the named defendants were all state officials - including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown who refused to mount a serious defense of Prop 8. That was a big "win" for the ProtectMarriage side - without which there might not have been much of a trial.

As for Walker's supposed judicial "activism" - there's a difference between being engaged and being "activist or neutral calling balls and strikes. This is a bench trial. Walker had to be engaged for clarification.

[Read the article or read more articles from LGBT POV.]

The Prop 8 Judge Is Gay, and It Doesn't Matter Tuesday, 02/09/10
Gawker

It'd be cool if the relative quiet on Walker's orientation was because America recognized that Judge Walker's sex life doesn't affect his job. (Minimal MSM and right-wing pickup so far.) As SF Weekly points out, even calling the Chronicle's article an "outing" is misleading: Walker never tried to hide his orientation, and it's pretty common for judges to keep their personal lives away from the spotlight.

[Read the article or read more articles from Gawker.]

Gay rights: Oakland LDS Stake tries to heal post-Prop 8 rifts Friday, 02/05/10
Salt Lake Tribune

In June 2008, the LDS First Presidency asked all California Mormons to give their time and money to Proposition 8, a ballot measure striking down gay marriage. Many members did so with gusto, circulating petitions, raising money, sending e-mails to church lists and putting up lawn signs.

That left other Bay Area Mormons, particularly those with gay friends and relatives, feeling embattled and alienated. Some stepped away temporarily from church; others left for good. Those who remained often felt at odds with fellow believers.

Oakland Stake President Dean Criddle, a respected lawyer and gentle leader, sensed the ripples of collective pain and wanted to reunite his flock, says Matt Marostica, bishop of the Berkeley Ward.

So Criddle and his counselors assembled quotes and speeches from LDS general authorities that stressed love and compassion for those with same-sex attraction. They then asked each of the 10 wards in the stake to hold a joint meeting of adult members during church services on either Aug. 30 or Sept. 6 to hand out the quotes and listen to personal stories from area members.

[Read the article or read more articles from Salt Lake Tribune.]

Bill would divorce religion from marriage Thursday, 02/04/10
Bay Area Reporter

It is a breakup many LGBT activists say is long overdue, and now openly gay state Senator Mark Leno wants the state to intervene in the split. Leno is pushing a bill that would, in effect, divorce religion from marriage under California's statutes.

Leno's bill, SB 906, is called the Civil Marriage Religious Freedom Act. It would emphatically state that faith leaders in California will not face penalties or be arrested if they refuse to marry same-sex couples. The legislation also clarifies that any church that does not sanction same-sex marriages would not lose its tax-exempt status.

[Read the article or read more articles from Bay Area Reporter.]

New study: gender of parents doesn't matter. Tuesday, 02/02/10
Psychology Today

In their analysis, the researchers found no evidence of gender-based parenting abilities, with the "exception of lactation," noting that very little about the gender of the parent has significance for children's psychological adjustment and social success. They found there are far more similarities than differences among children of lesbian and heterosexual parents. On average, two mothers tended to play with their children more, were less likely to use physical discipline, and were less likely to raise children with chauvinistic attitudes. Studies of gay male families are still limited.

[Read the article or read more articles from Psychology Today.]

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