Prop 8 Marriage Equality Trial: Ted Olson's Opening Statement

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Thanks to Advocate.com, here's the text of the opening statement by plaintiffs' attorney Ted Olson in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the challenge to California's Prop 8, which bans same-sex marriage. The trial started today and is being heard by Chief Judge Vaughn Walker and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

As a gay friend of mine commented today, "I never thought I'd say this but "WAY TO GO TED OLSON!!!" I have to agree.

You may recall that Ted Olson is a major figure in the conservative movement and served as George Bush's Solicitor General from June 2001 to July 2004. Olson was present at the first meeting of the Federalist Society, and he has served on the board of directors of American Spectator magazine. He also served as an Assistant Attorney General (Office of Legal Counsel) in the Reagan administration, where he defended President Reagan during the Iran-Contra affair. Perhaps most people know him as the attorney who successfully represented presidential candidate George W. Bush in the Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore, which essentially determined the final result of the contested 2000 Presidential election.

Check out this New York Times article that lays out the road that Ted Olson traveled to get to what "he believes could be the most important case of his career."

The plaintiffs' legal team in Perry v. Schwarzenegger also includes David Boies, who represented Al Gore in Bush v. Gore, in opposition to Ted Olson. Boies is also a very highly respected attorney, but most people don't find it surprising that he's involved in this case. On the other hand, many are shocked to learn that Olson is one of the two lead attorneys in the case. However, when you come to think of it, conservatives who believe in the U.S. Constitution should be supporting marriage equality under the equal protection clause and due process. And so should every Dem.