BUMPED AND UPDATED 28 JANUARY 2010
William C. Duncan is the director of The Marriage Law Foundation. During the opening weeks of the federal trial against the California Marriage Amendment, Duncan wrote concise summaries of the Plaintiff's "Evidence in a Nutshell".
Here are quotes from his series thusfar:
An academic historian says that marriage has changed through time and has nothing to do with children, but she can’t answer the question of whether it is “infinitely elastic.”
[A] lesbian writer who married in California before Proposition 8 to defy the “fundamentalist, warmongering regime in Washington” described her feelings about being able to marry a same-sex partner.
[Click here to read the middle of the blogpost.]
[T]he mayor of San Diego explained that he had changed his opinion about the definition of marriage because his daughter came out as a lesbian.
[A Stanford University politics] professor (presumably unfamiliar with the Civil Rights movement, pro-life efforts, anti-gambling initiatives, etc.) says the interdenominational cooperation of religious groups in favor of Proposition 8 is “unprecedented.”
David Boies badgers a Chinese American chemical engineer who supported Proposition 8 about his thoughts about same-sex marriage in order to show, presumably, that they are bigoted...
On Friday, an academic psychologist testified that, while the subject is complicated, most people who identify as gay or lesbian do not feel they have chosen their orientation. He noted his own survey that reported 88 percent of gay male and 68 percent of lesbian respondents said they had no choice in their orientation.
Also see "Extrapolating Choice.
The attorneys defending Proposition 8 began presenting their witnesses today. First, a political-science professor describes the growing political power of advocates of gay rights.
UPDATE:
On Tuesday, David Blankenhorn explained that the purpose of marriage has never been to express animus towards gays and lesbians. He testified that redefining marriage would exacerbate the trend towards deinstitutionalizing marriage so that it becomes nothing more than a tenuous contractual arrangement focused on individual fulfillment.
Also Read: "Proposition 8 Trial - Evidence Portion Ends."
The judge will schedule closing arguments, probably in a few weeks. [...] A number of witnesses for the defense were unwilling to go on the stand when it seemed likely the trial would be televised and become an Internet spectacle.
Also Read Playful Walrus: "Testimony Finished in Proposition 8 Trial."
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More from William Duncan:
Thank you for this excellent coverage!
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