Proposition 8 Opening Arguments Conclude

Opening arguments have concluded in the federal trial challenging the constitutional validity of Proposition 8 in San Francisco, California. Theodore Olsen, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, during his opening argument, dismissed the idea that domestic partnership laws are sufficient protection for same sex couples, arguing that the law acts as “cruel fiction” and a “badge of inferiority” for gay couples. Charles Cooper, the lead attorney for the defendants, hit the familiar note that marriage – traditional marriage – must be protected and preserved by society, limiting itself to heterosexual couples for procreative purposes, marriage, Cooper contended, must be “pro-child.”