California

Testimony concluded Wednesday in the landmark case against California's Proposition 8, with attorneys for the two same-sex couples who mounted the challenge confident, and Prop 8 defenders hopeful that the gay marriage ban will prevail. Legal experts following the trial expect Chief U.S. District Court... [ Read more → ]

Opponents of same-sex marriage in California rolled out their star witness Tuesday, an author and advocate who, at first, predicted that allowing gays and lesbians to wed would discourage heterosexual marriage and might lead to legalized polygamy, but then seemed to contradict his entire position.... [ Read more → ]

The defense team opened their case in federal court Monday in the challenge against Proposition 8, arguing that gays and lesbians are a politically powerful force, with strong allies in high office, unions, corporations and the media. The testimony was intended to counter arguments by... [ Read more → ]

Andrew Pugno,  serves as the Chief Legal Counsel for protectmarriage.com which spearheads the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign. Commentary by Erika Napoletano toywithme.com Mr. Pugno ~ Erika Napoletano here -– no relation to Janet or the other plethora of political Napoletanos running around out there.... [ Read more → ]

The plaintiffs in the legal challenge over California's Proposition 8 called their final witness Friday, who testified that homosexuality is an inherent characteristic of gays and lesbians, not a social choice. Gregory Herek, a University of California-Davis psychology professor, testified that most people don't choose... [ Read more → ]

A leading proponent of California's Proposition 8, whose whose writings linked homosexuality to pedophilia and prostitution, was called to the stand as a "hostile witness" Thursday by plaintiff's attorneys, aimed at showing that hostility and animus toward gays and lesbians fueled the passage of the... [ Read more → ]

Cindy McCain, wife of the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), is the latest high-profile public figure to come out in support of gay marriage, posing for the NOH8 Campaign, a campaign protest of California's Proposition 8, the 2008 voter-approved ban on same-sex... [ Read more → ]

The federal case challenging California's Proposition 8 wrapped up it's seventh day Wednesday, with plaintiff's attorneys producing documents showing close ties between the Mormon church and the Prop. 8 campaign, and one expert witness asserting that President Obama is "not a reliable ally" for gays... [ Read more → ]

The second week of gay marriage on trial, the federal case challenging California's Proposition 8, opened Tuesday with San Diego's mayor as the star witness. Mayor Jerry Sanders, a Republican, testified he now supports gay marriage, saying his views evolved after learning one of his... [ Read more → ]

The first week in the historic case challenging California's voter-approved ban on gay marriage -- Proposition 8 -- came to a close on Friday, following a day of testimony in which child-rearing dominated the discussion, followed by a personal account of how marriage changed one... [ Read more → ]

The trial of Perry v. Schwarzenegger entered its fourth day in federal court Thursday, a high stakes landmark case challenging California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on gay marriage, that many see as a precursor to a showdow before the U.S. Supreme Court. On the... [ Read more → ]

In a letter released into federal court on Wednesday, a gay marriage opponent, and one of five defendants in the case challenging California’s Proposition 8, warned of the disastrous consequences of allowing gays to marry in California. [caption id="attachment_5046" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="Tam"][/caption] "One by one,... [ Read more → ]

The federal trial to overturn Proposition 8, the 2008 voter initiative that reinstated a California ban on same-sex marriage, entered its third day of testimony Wednesday, with a focus on the similarities and differences between homosexual and heterosexual couples, with a psychology professor citing "remarkable... [ Read more → ]

The legal challenge over Proposition 8 entered its second day in federal court in San Francisco Tuesday, with a few lessons in history from Ivy League historians called by the plantiffs. A Yale professor testifying in a case challenging California's same-sex marriage ban said Tuesday... [ Read more → ]

As the trial over California’s ban on same-sex marriage gets underway in San Francisco this week in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger, plantiff's attorney Theodore Olson has become an unexpected crusader for the rights of millions of gay Americans. Not so long ago, Olson argued... [ Read more → ]

The trial over California's ban on same-sex marriage opened Monday in San Francisco in a landmark case that could ultimately lead to a showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court. In opening statements challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, plaintiff's... [ Read more → ]

The federal trial challenging the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, a voter approved ban on gay marriage, began Monday with an opening statement by attorney Theodore Olson, who with David Boies, is leading the legal team representing the plaintiffs in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger.... [ Read more → ]

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday temporarily blocked a federal judge's plan to broadcast the trial over California's ban on gay marriage by posting video on YouTube. Just an hour before the trial got under way Monday, the high court Court halted for at least... [ Read more → ]

Gay marriage opponents have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and block video coverage a federal trial on the constitutionality California's ban on same-sex marriage. Attorneys defending Proposition 8 and its ban on same-sex marriage filed the emergency appeal Saturday, arguing that their... [ Read more → ]

An outspoken gay marriage opponent, and one of five defendants in the case challenging California's Proposition 8, has asked to be removed from the lawsuit over fear the trial publicity that would endanger him and his family. [caption id="attachment_5046" align="alignleft" width="196" caption="Tam"][/caption] Hak-Shing William Tam... [ Read more → ]