Prop 8 trial, Day 3: Referendum supporter’s deposition takes center stage
Attorneys challenging Proposition 8 introduced the videotaped deposition of one of the referendum's supporters in which he talked about fears the "gay agenda" would follow up any success at obtaining marriage for gays and lesbians with efforts to legalize prostitution and pedophilia.
Hak-Shing William Tam, one of the leaders of ProtectMarriage.com, successfully petitioned the court last June to make him one of five defendant-intervenors in the case. He then unsuccessfully asked the court last week to remove him from the case, saying he feared harassment as long as his name was linked to Prop 8. Tam maintained he wanted "peace to carry on my ministry and I don't want to be tied down indefinitely with this case."
During cross-examination of Yale historian George Chauncey, videotaped portions of Tam's Dec. 1 deposition were shown. Tam said he had learned about a "gay agenda" devised by a group of activists established in a 1972 meeting Chicago from the Internet. The minister also stressed he found out gays were more likely to have sexually transmitted diseases.
Tam also discussed in the deposition rallies he had helped organize, radio and television appearances he had made, and articles he had written to support Prop 8.
The San Francisco-based minister added his Asian American friends were upset about the portrayal of marriage for same-sex couples as a civil rights issue.
"We think that civil rights is about skin color, like me being Asian, and I cannot change it," Tam said in his deposition. "My concern is if homosexuals portray themselves as another minority, than sexual preference can become another minority. Now there's an option for children to pick their marriage. My daughter told me that her classmates chose to become lesbians and experiment with it after they noticed that they think same sex is a cool thing. Once same-sex marriage is in the air, they think, 'Why not?'"
When Tam applied to be part of the lawsuit, he claimed he had played a significant role in the campaign. Members of ProtectMarriage.com did not refute this claim at the time, but they were swift to distance themselves from Tam in court today.
"His role in campaigning for Prop 8 was next to nothing," Andrew Pugno, one of the attorneys defending Prop 8, said during the noon break.
Pugno said he thought Prop 8 supporters had done a good job of portraying social progress that made marriage for same-sex couples unnecessary.
"I think there were some key admissions today," Pugno said. "I think it was shown today there has been a real transformation in American society. The people of California are very tolerant and accepting, but they draw the line at marriage."
Chauncey testified that Tam's deposition and the Prop 8 campaign videos portrayed a consistent message that same-sex relationships are considered inferior, and that gays and lesbians pose a threat to families.
Chauncey concluded in his 2004 book on the marriage debate with the argument marriage for gays and lesbians would soon become a reality. He said on Wednesday, however, the passage of Prop 8 and other legislative and voter initiatives over the past five years have left him less optimistic.