Love

[spryng]

I've been following the prop8 trial for some time now (two weeks?) and never have I been so amused as during the cross-examination of the defense's "experts" this week. I've been wanting to do a more general post about what's been going on in the trial and the implications, but that requires, necessitates more thought than I have right now, so I will leave you with a few links and a few out of context quotes.

(M is Miller, the defense's expert on how politically powerful glbtq are in CA and the US; B is Boies, the atty for the plaintiffs, i.e. the atty arguing the constitutional invalidity of prop8):

M: In California, there is no opportunity to amend unless they pull it back.
B: How often has that happened in California?
M: Not infrequently.
B: When was last time?
M: I guess.
B: I’m not asking you to guess. I’m asking you to tell me the last time.
M: Many times it’s pulled back.
B: When was last time in CA that signatures were gathered and then proponents pulled back to make compromise?
M: Discussed in 2005 special, but did not happen.
B: Give me last time in California?
M: I can give you example in Colorado.
B: We’re talking about Ca. You wanted to talk about CA.
T: Objection, He’s badgering the witness.
Judge Walker: Overruled. This is cross-examination.
B: Good God man.
M: I don’t know.


Also, the number of times the defense's two witnesses have said something like the following is astounding:

DB: I believe that adoption of same sex marriage would be likely to improve the well-being of gay and lesbian households and their children.


B: Any examples of discrimination against gays and lesbians in modern period?
M: Military.
B: Any others?
M: Private situations about which I cannot opine, but only official discrimination of which I can think is DADT.
B: Is that your definition, official discrimination, that is legally enforced by the state?
M: Yes.
B: Are you aware of any official discrimination against gays and lesbians in this country today other than DADT policy?
M: (Thinking) I’m trying to think of other laws that are official…policies that discriminate on that basis. One thing you are looking at would be DOMA policy.
B: There you go!
M: That’s what you are getting at. The DOMA policy is a differentiation of the treatment between gays and lesbians.

Seriously, if you have any interest in this, you should read the daily/weekly summaries at Prop8 Trial Tracker. This stuff is not only amusing, it's highly educating.

I will hopefully actually make a post summing up all my thoughts on this after tomorrow, which is the last day of testimony and evidence prior to the judge taking his time to go over everything for several weeks. There has been a lot of big stuff unveiled, and a lot of arguments made.