Expose the Bigots: Help Get the Prop 8 Trial Televised
Posted by Tara Lohan,
AlterNet at 8:51 AM on January 6, 2010.
Act now and please pass this on.On Monday one of the biggest court cases in the battle for equal rights for queer people will kick off. Top attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies (who, interestingly were on opposite sides of the court room defending Bush and Gore after the 2000 election) are teaming up to make a federal challenge to California's Proposition 8, which took away the rights for same-sex couples to marry.
As this case gets going, wouldn't you like to actually see what's going on in the court room? I know I would. I'm interested in who's making it their mission to be sure my partner and I can't get married. We need to get this thing televised. Change.org, the Courage Campaign and Credo are putting together a petition to do just that, but it ends at tomorrow (Thursday) at 11:59 p.m..
The judge is currently seeking public comment to allow TVs in the court room. Click here to say yes to that. And hurry.
Of course our opponents are fighting this -- and you could imagine for good reason. Who wants posterity to look back on their hateful actions?
Why is this so important? Here's Michael Jones from Change.org:
The crux of this issue is pretty simple. This case will have massive implications for the civil rights of tens of thousands of Californians -- and quite possibly millions of Americans. How many court cases approach that level of significance? Not many, which is why it's critical that the guts of this trial be as transparent and open as possible. Add your name to the growing list of folks calling on Judge Vaughn Walker to allow cameras in the courtroom.
Anti-gay groups have already started to mobilize, led by Focus on the Family and others, to keep the cameras out. Why? Because they don't want their homophobia on display for all of America to see. But if they believe so strongly in their convictions that LGBT folks don't deserve equal rights to marriage, why are they running scared?
The Courage Campaign and CREDO Action put this in very stark terms. There is unprecedented interest in this trial, and the public deserves to know what happens inside the courtroom. Hell, if we can televise the O.J. Simpson trial, can't we televise a trial for one of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time?
Add your voice to this, and please pass it on.
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/144980/expose_the_bigots%3A_help_get_the_prop_8_trial_televised/
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