Legal News

Prop. 8 Trial Wraps, Motions and Waiting to Follow

By Ashby Jones

With any luck, we’ll have more on the big Prop. 8 trial later in the day. For now, just a bit of news on where things stand.

Testimony in the trial ended on Wednesday. The last witness to take the stand was one offered up by the defense: an advocate of male-female marriage who hammered on the point that society has interest in promoting traditional families. Click here for the story, from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Sponsors of Prop. 8 called David Blankenhorn, founder of the Institute for American Values, to make the case that allowing gay and lesbian weddings would weaken marriage. In two days of testimony, Blankenhorn predicted fewer heterosexual marriages and more divorces and one-parent households if marital rights are extended to homosexuals.

David Boies, a lawyer for gay and lesbian couples challenging Prop. 8 confronted Blankenhorn with his declaration in a 2007 book, “The Future of Marriage,” that “we would be more American” if same-sex marriage were legalized. Blankenhorn sought to reconcile his statements Wednesday, saying gay and lesbian couples and their children would benefit but marriage as a whole would suffer.

Although same-sex partners deserve “equal dignity,” Blankenhorn said, their interests conflict with every child’s right to have a mother and father.

As he wrote in his book, he said, “the rights of gays and lesbians should take second place to the needs of an existing social institution,” traditional marriage.

After Blankenhorn wrapped up, so did the trial. And now what happens? Judge Vaughn Walker of San Francisco heard 12 days of testimony in the nation’s first federal trial of a ban on same-sex marriage. He said he would schedule closing arguments after final written submissions from both sides, due in 30 days.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on January 28, 2010 (boomark / email).