Prop 8 Trial Coverage Day 3: Aggressive, Violent Acts By Supporters of LGBT Rights

Guest blogger Davina Kotulski of DavinaKotulski.com reports on the Prop 8 trial, day 3. (See earlier Day 3 post.)

Back from Break, 10:24 AM, Thompson begins introducing evidence that Yes8 people were attacked by No8 people - death threats, boycotts, defaced churches, and an elderly couple beaten up.

While this is all hearsay to me, I want to speak to two things.

First, I was one of those people who was verbally and almost physically assaulted during the Prop 8 campaign in my hometown Oakland, California.

Following the Prop 8 state trial I began receiving death threats from a man who called my home and sent me e-mails calling me a “fucking dyke” while simultaneously identifying himself as a Christian.

I was concerned because Molly and I were community grand marshals for the SF Pride Parade and were going to ride in a convertible car down Market St. during gay pride. I had images of JFK’s assassination running through my head as the phone calls continued. I filed a police report, eventually the calls stopped.

Second, again the Yeson8 reports of being victimized are hearsay, but we should be mindful as we advance our equality to maintain non-violence in all aspects of our communication with our opposition. We must not become the bullies.

As Ghandi said, the enemy of truth, is untruth, it’s not the person. I invite us to be in a place of compassion wherever possible with our opponents. Knowing that many of our current opponents will one day awaken to their misunderstandings (mistakes) and some may even become active allies in ushering in more equality.

The truth is, so many already have.

KING AND KING - IT’S A FAIRY TALE-IT’S NOT ABOUT SEX

Lawyers for ProtectMarriage.com showed footage of the heterosexual couple from Massachusetts who were featured in Yeson8 ads talking about how school children would be forced to learn about gay sex because someone at their son’s school read the book King and King, and it was not part of the curriculum. The couple say this is forced on kids and parents and they are helpless to change it.



Particularly appalling was when the women said, “Our children should not be exposed to sexuality in second grade. Now they are being forced to learn about gay marriage in math, social studies, and reading. Parents have no rights.”

Thompson badgered Chauncey asking him shouldn’t parents have a right to decide what their children learn if they oppose the teaching.

Chauncey fired back that if parents oppose interracial marriage they can send their child to a private school, but that public schools “are encouraged to teach broader social values,” and he emphasized that the book, King and King, “is a fairy tale, it’s not about gay sex,” as Thompson and the couple tried to frame.

IS MARRIAGE AN ADULT ISSUE? IF SO WHAT ARE CHILDREN DOING AT WEDDINGS?

Chief Deputy Attorney for San Francisco, Terry Stewart, asked Professor Chauncey if marriage was an adult issue and if he had ever heard of flower children before. There were a few chuckles in the court room, as Stewart corrected herself and said “flower girls and ring bearers.”

She challenges Thompson’s earlier point that even gay people didn’t want marriage, but mentioning that there were many blacks in the segregated South who were also initially uncomfortable with integration with whites for various reasons.

HOMOSEXUAL ACTS GO AGAINST THE NATURAL LAW

Stewart then asks Chauncey to read some documents by Prop 8 supporters to be submitted as evidence.

Chauncey reads-ALLOWING CHILDREN TO BE ADOPTED BY LIVING IN SUCH UNIONS WOULD BE DOING VIOLENCE TO THESE CHILDREN

Then Stewart introduces video of a deposition with the Executive Director of the Traditional Family Coalition, Dr. Bill Tam, who volunteered almost all of his time to help ProtectMarriage.com pass Prop 8.

Dr. Tam via pre-recorded video:

Dr. Tam-I communicated with Ron Prentice, Andrew Pugno, Frank Schubert…I organized several rallies in support of Prop 8 attended by thousands of voters and raised several thousand dollars and support from Asian-American community.”

Depo Attorney-How did you attract people?

Dr. Tam-Notices of rallies at churches.

Depo Attorney- Were these venues public?

Dr. Tam-Yeah. China Town Square. Names some Memorial Park.

Depo Atty- Who attended the rallies?

Dr. Tam mentions many clergy members and Ron Prentice and Tony Perkins.

STATEMENT BY DR. TAM PROTECTMARRIAGE.COM SUMMARIZED BY PROF. CHAUNCEY

Chauncey summarizes Dr. Tam’s remarks. “This is anti-gay rhetoric. Describes right to marry as the legalization of prostitution, put forth by SF city government which is under rule of homosexuals, forced on the people. The next step after gay marriage is legalizing sex with children.”

IF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS LEGAL, EVERY CHILD WOULD GROW UPTHINKING THEY COULD MARRY JOHN OR JANE

Video shows Dr. Tam describing the "Gay Agenda."

“It is legalizing sex with children-google it,” he says. When asked by the depo attorney if he believes this is true. He evokes his 1st amendment right that he doesn't have to say if believes this.

Tam goes on to express his concern that if gay marriage were legal it would lead not only to legalizing sex with children, but it would lead to “every child would grow up thinking they could marry John or Jane.”

Dr. Tam expressed concern that because of gay marriage, “my daughter wanted to experiment with girls and had trouble getting boys. So the girls tried girls, the children did an experiment.”

He also expressed concern about gays calling marriage a civil right. He said, “It’s a concern to Asian Americans that gays call it civil rights, civil rights is about skin color. I cannot change it. If homosexuals portray self as minority, then sex preference can become a minority.”

And in fact, LGBT people are the minority, but as we continue to grow as a society, we will be a part of a majority of people who believe in equality for LGBTIQ people.

I’m sorry to say, but I will not be in the court room again until Friday at 8:30 AM. Follow michaelpetrelis.com for a summary later of the day and Paul Hogarth at Courage Campaign's Prop 8 Trial Tracker who is doing live blogging.

I will however be posting some interviews hopefully at the end of the day.