(Updated) Follow Federal Trial on Lawsuit Challenging Prop 8's Ban on Same-Sex Marriage

Update: We've learned that www.justnm.com is carrying a Twitter feed from the courtroom and beyond on their website. You can follow the same feed directly on Twitter at JustNewMexico/lists/prop8trial.
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The trial on the landmark federal lawsuit challenging Prop 8, which overturned marriage equality rights in California that were previously granted by the courts, began today and is expected to last at least two weeks. Perry v. Schwarzenegger (also known as the Ted Olson/David Boies case) is being heard by Chief Judge Vaughn Walker and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

The Courage Campaign Institute is live blogging the entire trial at its Prop 8 Trial Tracker page, and encouraging comments by readers.

The plaintiffs are planning to take their case against the California Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and to overturn bans throughout the nation. It's a risky challenge, however, as a decision against the suit could make it harder for those seeking marriage equality on the state level.

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times,

San Francisco's U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker, a Republican appointee known for independence, will decide whether Proposition 8's ban on same-sex marriage violates U.S. constitutional rights of equal protection and due process. Walker's pretrial rulings have tended to favor supporters of same-sex marriage.

The start of the trial was described by Reuters:

... District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker peppered lawyers with questions before they had made their cases. He stopped lawyer Ted Olson, arguing in favor of same-sex marriage, a couple of sentences into his presentation to ask if the state could simply get out of the marriage business altogether to avoid the question of discrimination.

"Yes, I believe it could," said Olson, who won President George Bush his presidency in 2000 in a case against Al Gore argued by David Boies -- now working with Olson on this case.

Olson pressed ahead, but Walker asked whether the institution of marriage had improved as it changed over the years, and why the court should get involved in the case at all, since voters and legislatures are clearly engaged.

"We wouldn't need a Constitution if we left everything to the political process," replied Olson.

Supporters of same-sex marriage wanted to have the trial televised, and Judge Walker agreed to have it aired on a delayed basis on YouTube. However, opponents of marriage equality went to the U.S. Supreme Court to fight the order and today won a stay that will be reviewed again by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The opponents, while unafraid to get in people's faces on this issue in the press and via nasty TV ads, are reportedly scared to have their testimony seen by the public:

The decision came after gay marriage foes told the court they would be harassed and intimidated if their testimony was disseminated on such a grand scale.

We all know they're really afraid to let the public see how powerful the arguments are on the side of marriage equality, and how dependent on fear and bias the opponents are in arguing against equal rights for all.