Statement on 9th Circuit court denial of Proposition 8 lawyers' attempt to delay federal trial
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2010
LOS ANGELES, CA – Rick Jacobs, Chair of the 700,000-member Courage Campaign Institute, released the following statement today regarding the failed attempt by lawyers representing supporters of Proposition 8 to delay the federal trial in response to Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling to allow YouTube broadcasts:
“We are pleased that the 9th Circuit court recognized that the public has a right to see the evidence and hear the arguments presented in this historic trial. In just 72 hours, the Courage Campaign and CREDO Action gathered 140,671 signatures from Americans calling for the proceedings to be televised — a powerful demonstration of support for transparency of the process.”
“Americans care deeply about marriage equality and they clearly want to see and hear this case unfold. It’s time that the debate about marriage equality is seen for what it is — a debate over the rights of our friends and families to live their lives freely. While Judge Walker’s ruling to provide delayed video on YouTube was a half-measure, this response by supporters of Prop 8 to delay the trial would have moved us further from a fair and just hearing.”
Background: Following the court’s announcement late Monday that it was seeking public comment on the proposal to televise the trial the Courage Campaign Institute teamed up with CREDO Action to organize support to publicly televise the proceedings in the federal case to overturn California’s Proposition 8. The letter was signed by 140,671 people calling for a publicly accessible trial. Both organizations presented these signatures to the court Friday morning. A copy of the letter can be seen at:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/TeleviseTheTrial