Landmark Prop 8 Trial to Begin Today

Gay marriage will have its day in federal court today, in an unprecedented trial that’s expected to reach all the way to the Supreme Court. The case, Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, challenges Proposition 8 on the basis that it violates the US Constitution’s guarantees to equal protection. It’ll be the first time in any lawsuit that witnesses have taken the stand to claim a right to, and argue the merits of, same-sex marriage.

“This is the first time that you will have this kind of record being made,” says attorney David Boies. Boies, who represented Al Gore in the Bush vs. Gore Supreme Court case, has teamed with Theodore Olson, who represented Bush, to challenge the marriage ban. Though the case won’t reach the Supreme Court until 2011, one justice will actually rule on it today. Anthony Kennedy will decide whether or not the trial will be broadcast on YouTube, which the Prop 8 side opposes. (More Proposition 8 stories.)