According to Bob Egelko, writing at the San Francisco Chronicle, the anti-gays behind Prop 8 don’t want TV cameras in the courtroom on 11 January when the federal trial on the constitutionality of the initiative that eliminated the existing right of same sex couple to marry in California begins.
Sponsors of California’s ban on same-sex marriage, which faces a federal court trial in San Francisco next month, have told the trial judge that his suggestion to televise the proceedings is both unwise and illegal.
Television coverage could expose witnesses and other trial participants to harassment and intimidation, backers of Proposition 8 said in a court filing Monday. They said some of their witnesses “have indicated that they would not be willing to testify” if the trial was televised.
Author and activist Wayne Besen, writing at Truth Wins Out, nails it:
This is because they are subconsciously ashamed of their backward views and don’t want to be seen publicly as the bigots that they truly are.
In the deep recesses of their hardened hearts, they understand what they are doing is immoral, despicable and discriminatory. Yet, because of misplaced religious beliefs and a compulsive need to impose their worldview on others, these embarrassed souls continue to push prejudice.
Maggie Gallagher, of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), likes to menace her minions with her baseless claim that “gay marriage will have consequences.” When pressed for details, Gallagher can only cite instances unrelated to marriage equality in any state. She never bothers to mention the spike in violent anti-gay attacks in the wake of the Proposition 8.
California, like Maine — where Gallagher and Co. also attempted to hide NOM’s funding sources by taking the state to court, has long had election donation disclosure laws. They serve a purpose. The public has a right to know who is influencing elections.
However the judge ultimately decides, the names of the anti-gays will appear in the court transcripts. Those names will be published because all Californians have a right to know with whom they’re doing business, and gay and lesbian Californians have a right to take their dollars elsewhere if our money is being channeled into causes that oppose or seek to eliminate our fundamental civil rights.
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