Federal gay marriage trial resumes in San Francisco with historian’s cross-examination
By Lisa Leff, APWednesday, January 13, 2010
Historian back on stand in gay marriage trial
SAN FRANCISCO — A Yale historian testifying in a case challenging California’s same-sex marriage ban is being cross-examined about public attitudes about gay Americans.
George Chauncey returned to the witness stand for a second day Wednesday.
A lawyer for sponsors of the voter-approved ban quoted some of Chauncey’s writings along with polls indicating gay people and their relationships had gained greater acceptance during the past 10 years.
Chauncey testified Tuesday that the 2008 campaign to pass Proposition 8 played on stereotypes historically used to portray homosexuals as perverts who prey on young children and entice straight people into “sick behavior.”
The proceedings in San Francisco are the first in a federal court aimed at determining if state prohibitions on gay marriage violate the U.S. Constitution.
