Gay marriage foes want delay in Calif. trial to appeal allowing video testimony on YouTube
By APFriday, January 8, 2010
Gay marriage foes seek Calif. trial delay
SAN FRANCISCO — Sponsors of California’s gay marriage ban want a delay in the trial over its constitutionality so they can appeal a judge’s decision to allow videotaped testimony on YouTube.
The trial is scheduled to start Monday.
Earlier this week, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker decided to allow daily video recordings of the trial on YouTube, a first for a federal courtroom in the West.
But the ban’s sponsors, who have intervened as defendants in the case, argue that witnesses fearing public reprisal might withhold or otherwise alter their testimony if cameras are present.
The sponsors want Walker to delay the trial until an appeals court decides the camera issue.
The case will decide a challenge to California’s gay marriage ban approved by voters in 2008.
