The Prop 8 Case
Everyone is covering the Prop 8 case. Here are a few of the sites with people on the ground at the courtroom. (As you may have heard, the U.S. Supreme Court banned videocasting of the trial. Jenny Pizer, Lambda Legal’s Marriage Project director, explains why.)j
- Lisa Keen has a good summary up already on this morning’s testimony by Dr. Michael Lamb of Cambridge University, who very patiently explained to the defense that it is the quality of a child’s parents, not their gender, which matters.
- Karen Ocamb and several others at LGBT POV are also giving daily updates.
- Davina Kotulski, the former Executive Director of Marriage Equality USA, is writing about it at Bilerico as well as LGBT POV.
- The Courage Campaign is covering it through their special Prop 8 Trial Tracker site.
Other U.S. News
- Military officials said the Pentagon is stepping up internal discussions on how gay men and lesbians could serve openly in the armed services, reports the New York Times. But wait! The NYT also reports that lawyers for the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are recommending holding off on an effort to repeal the ban. Separately, LGBT organization leaders and advisors to major LGBT political donors met at HRC headquarters in Washington, D.C. to discuss current strategy on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
- Capitol Hill sources say the House Education & Labor Committee will take up the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) shortly after lawmakers return from holiday break.
- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Doe No. 1 v. Reed, which asks whether a state can require information about the signers of a petition for a referendum to be made public. The case stems from the 2009 Referendum 71 in Washington State, where opponents of a domestic partnership law said they feared harassment if it became known they supported a referendum.
- The Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee will consider an amendment next week that would restrict marriage to one man and one woman.
- Eighteen Republicans in the Iowa Senate sponsored a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to make a marriage between one man and one woman the only legal or recognized union in the state.
- In Montana, the Bozeman City Commission voted to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the protected categories in the anti-discrimination policy for city employees. They will now review specific language before officially adopting the measure.
- A Washington, D.C. Superior Court judge ruled that opponents of marriage equality do not have the right to call for a referendum on its legality in the District.
Around the World
- The state-sponsored English-language China Daily ran a front-page photo of China’s first publicly “married” gay couple. Despite this sign of a new openness, the two men say they have moved to a small town to avoid unwanted attention.
- Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, called on Uganda to abandon a bill that imposes imprisonment or death on gay people.
