COMMANDED: Performance of Dustin Lance Black’s new play “8″ attracts all-star cast!

An all-star cast has been assembled for the Sept. 9 benefit staged reading of 8, Dustin Lance Black’s play about California’s Prop. 8 trial, according to Greg in Hollywood.

Check out this cast: Oscar winners Morgan Freeman and Marisa Tomei, Cheyenne Jackson, Rob Reiner, Christine Lahti, and Anthony Edwards!

The reading will be performed Sept. 19 at the Eugene O’Neill Theater in New York and is a benefit for the American Foundation for Equal Rights. It is being directed by Tony Award–winning actor and director Joe Mantello.

The show will follow the trial of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the case AFER filed with the federal district court to overturn Prop.8, the gay marriage bill that struck down the right for gay and lesbian couples to marry in California.

(Marriage News Watch): The Latest Wrinkle in the Prop 8 Trial!

by Matt Baume
MarriageNewsWatch


A new twist in the Prop 8 case, with a court date coming just days after a controversial new judge is expected to join the Supreme Court. New York launches its own attack on the Defense of Marriage Act, and polling brings mostly good news, and a little bad.

(Marriage News Watch): Prop 8 Trial will Premiere on Broadway!

by Matt Baume

MarriageNewsWatch

The Prop 8 trial is coming to Broadway -- and then to theaters all over the country. The fallout from New York continues, with renewed efforts in Maryland and Colorado. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on DOMA's repeal on Wednesday, the 20th, and meanwhile Canada makes us look bad celebrating the sixth anniversary of marriage equality.

Dustin Lance Black's Latest Project Puts Proposition 8 Center Stage

The 37-year old screenwriter and activist who achieved fame, fortune and an Oscar for his work on Milk, Dustin Lance Black, spent the last six months sifting through thousands of transcripts from the Proposition 8 trial (Actually OUTview's own Ryan Burr spotted Black at the Trial) and has turned them into a play, 8.

The play, which features dramatized adaptations of all the California gay marriage trial's main characters, will hold its first reading on September 19th at the Eugene O'Neill Theater in New York City, the New York Times reports: [The new play] will be performed in a staged reading on Broadway in September and then produced at Carnegie Mellon University, Northwestern, the University of Michigan, and elsewhere.

The play consists mostly of verbatim dialogue and statements from the trial transcript, Mr. Black said, as well as his own observations from sitting in the courtroom most days and interviewing people on both sides of the case.
...
“One of my hopes about the trial was to get the opposition in court, hands raised swearing to tell the truth, and have the world see the opposition called to account for going on TV saying gay people harm children, harm families,” Mr. Black said. “Since the trial itself wasn’t heard or seen, I wanted to get that story out another way.”

No word on who will star in the reading, but producers promise "a cast of top Hollywood names and Broadway's finest."

(Marriage News Watch) New York's Impact is Already Spreading!

by Matt Baume
marriagenewswatch.com

It's been another super busy week so let's get right to it: Rhode Island is getting civil unions but along with them come some dangerous anti-gay laws. Maine will collect signatures to overturn that state's marriage ban, and seven couples have sued New Jersey to do the same there. The American Medical Association endorsed marriage equality, the National Organization for Marriage won't be allowed to use secret donors in Minnesota, the Department of Justice sided against DOMA in one case and with DOMA in another. And as of this weekend, I've moved: goodbye San Francisco, and hello West Hollywood.

LAW: Prop 8 Proponents Appeal Ruling Over Judge's Sexuality!

As they announced they would do in mid-June, Prop 8 proponents have filed papers appealing Judge James Ware's decision to reject the frivolous attempt to throw out the Prop 8 ruling over Judge Vaughn Walker's sexuality. 

Prop 8 proponents filed a motion April to vacate the ruling overturning California's ban on same-sex marriage, saying that the judge's recent statements that he is gay mean he should have recused himself from the case, and give them grounds to appeal. It was rejected on June 14.

The SF Examiner reports: Attorneys for Prop. 8 filed their appeal this afternoon before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the same court that is hearing an appeal of JudgeVaughn Walker's ruling last August that the law unconstitutionally violated the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

Reuters adds: Attorneys for ProtectMarriage.com, the anti-gay marriage group defending California's ban, said in court papers filed late last week that they would appeal Ware's decision. They did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Matthew McGill, an attorney for two same-sex couples challenging the ban, said ProtectMarriage.com had been clear that they would continue a "smear campaign" against Walker.

"The only thing surprising about this development is doing so in the face of such a well-reasoned opinion," McGill said.

OVER: George Clooney, Elisabetta Canalis Split!

Was George just killing time?

Big Hollywood breakup today: George Clooney and Italian girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis have called it quits after two years, reports People. They issued a joint statement short on specifics: "We are not together anymore. It's very difficult and very personal, and we hope everyone can respect our privacy." Canalis's rep says she will be "taking some time" before talking to the press. They celebrated his 50th birthday in LA last month. Remember George will never get Married until he can Legally marry Brad Pitt!

(Marriage News Watch) : Bad Week for the Anti-Gay Industry!

by Matt Baume

Marriagenewswatch.com

I've been doing some really cool work on marriage equality that's kept me so busy, I didn't even have time for a proper green screen this week. But try to ignore that, because a lot is happening right now.

We're down to the last possible second for marriage in New York, there was a major victory in California, new challenges to the Defense of Marriage act, bad news in France, and good news in Lichtenstein.

MIXED BAG: Gay Marriage Opponents Fail in California Court Bid!

A victory for gay marriage in California Tuesday: The judge who overturned the state's ban last year was under no obligation to recuse himself because he is gay and in a long-term relationship, a federal judge ruled. "It is not reasonable to presume that a judge is incapable of making an impartial decision about the constitutionality of a law, solely because, as a citizen, the judge could be affected by the proceedings," wrote the judge. 

Opponents of gay marriage had argued that the now-retired Vaughn Walker should not have been allowed to decide the legality of Prop 8 because he had a personal stake in the outcome, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. No dice, said today's ruling. That logic would require "recusal of minority judges in most, if not all, civil rights cases," wrote James Ware, chief judge of US District Court in San Francisco. A separate appeal of the Prop 8 ruling is still pending in federal court, notes the Los Angeles Times.

JUDGEMENT DAY: Key Ruling Due Today on Calif. Gay Marriage Ban!

Chief US District Judge James Ware will rule today on whether Judge Vaughn R. Walker's decision to strike down the state's gay marriage ban should be invalidated because the judge is gay and in a long-term relationship. Walker "occupied precisely those same shoes as the plaintiffs" when he decided Proposition 8 was unconstitutional, an attorney for gay marriage opponents ProtectMarriage argued during a hearing yesterday.

Ware appeared skeptical of ProtectMarriage's argument, and he is not expected to throw out Walker's ruling on the basis that the judge should have recused himself, the Los Angeles Times notes. "Our test of reasonableness in our country will not allow us to discriminate on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation," he said after asking ProtectMarriage's attorney whether he thought people should expect black judges to recuse themselves from civil rights trials.

(Marriage News Watch) : Prop 8 On Trial Yet Again!

by Matt Baume
marriagenewswatch.com

Today's the day for the hearing over whether a gay judge is allowed to hear a case about marriage. It's also the anniversary of the ruling that ended the ban on interracial marriage. A Catholic adoption agency in Illinois is suing for the right to stop foster kids from going to adoptive LGBT parents. And you can't get married in Wyoming, but you can get divorced.

(Marriage News Watch) Republicans Could Tip the Scales for Marriage!

by Matt Baume
MarriageNewsWatch.com 

The fight for marriage intensifies in New York with the long-awaited marriage bill finally introduced. But do LGBT groups have the support needed to pass it? Cathy Marino-Thomas will fill us in on their latest lobbying efforts. New York's pro-marriage Republicans could tip the scale in our favor, but in other states Republicans are working to ban marriage, and to penalize employers who provide health care to same-sex spouses. Binational LGBT couples are in a legal limbo right now, with a judge delaying Henry Velandia's deportation proceedings for another seven months. Lavi Solloway was there in court, and will tell us what happened.

(Marriage News Watch) Republicans Could Tip the Scales for Marriage!

by Matt Baume
MarriageNewsWatch.com

The fight for marriage intensifies in New York with the long-awaited marriage bill finally introduced. But do LGBT groups have the support needed to pass it? Cathy Marino-Thomas will fill us in on their latest lobbying efforts. New York's pro-marriage Republicans could tip the scale in our favor, but in other states Republicans are working to ban marriage, and to penalize employers who provide health care to same-sex spouses. Binational LGBT couples are in a legal limbo right now, with a judge delaying Henry Velandia's deportation proceedings for another seven months. Lavi Solloway was there in court, and will tell us what happened.

(Marriage News Watch) Irrational Prop 8 Demands Get Their Day in Court!

by Matt Baume
Stop8.org

What really prompted a prominent law firm to give up its defense of DOMA, and lose a key lawyer in the process? The date's been set for a showdown over the secret Prop 8 trial tapes, and over Judge Walker's personal life. Rhode Island legislators give up on marriage in favor of civil unions, and New York keeps ratcheting up the pressure with a massive lobbying effort slated for next week.

THE OTHER COAST: NY Takes Two Steps Forward Towards Gay Marriage, CA Takes Two Steps Back

New York is closer to getting same-sex marriage than it’s ever been and California is actually entertaining the latest set of ridiculous claims set forth by the Prop 8 people, writes Auto Saddle.
Today, 24 high-profile New York business leaders released an open an open letter declaring their endorsement of same-sex marriage as a wise move for the economy as it’ll help companies attract good people and keep them there. Some of the 22 rich dudes and 2 rich ladies involved with this letter include the chairman of Morgan Stanley and the chief executive of Goldman-Sachs.

From The New York Times: One prominent supporter, John J. Mack, the chairman of Morgan Stanley, said that he believed legalizing same-sex marriage would help attract more talent to New York, but that he saw the issue chiefly as one of fairness. “It’s that simple,” Mr. Mack said. “I grew up in North Carolina. I’m 66 years old. I grew up when there was segregation. It makes an impression on you.”

DOUBT: Walker shouldn't have judged case?

The federal judge who struck down California's ban on same-sex marriage should have disqualified himself because he is a gay man with a longtime partner and he could marry as a result of his ruling, sponsors of the ballot measure said in a court filing Monday, SF Chronicle reports.

Opening a new front in the battle over Proposition 8, its proponents said former Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's recent comments about his 10-year relationship, which he had not disclosed during the trial, show that his "impartiality might reasonably have been questioned from the outset."

NEW SERIES! (Marriage News Watch): Couples Torn Apart by the Government!

by Matt baume
Stop8.org

This Week in Prop 8 is Now Marriage News Watch!
There's going to be marriage than ever before, with another survey showing majority support for the freedom to marry. So why are Republicans spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend a law that could tear apart legally married couples like Henry and Josh? There's promising signs for marriage in New York and Scotland, but a legal setback in Montana is likely to postpone weddings for years.

PROP 8 Trial: Gays, Lies and Videotape!

Controversies around Prop 8 and the lawsuit to overturn it continue almost unabated. Anti-equality activists want all film of the trial "put under lock and key," so that no one may view it. The presiding judge in the case had shown a 3 minute clip during a lecture he gave and that got Prop 8 proponents in a tizzy, Reports the Huffington Post.


You might remember that proponents of Prop 8 were adamantly against allowing the public see and hear their actual case. Prop 8 opponents, in contrast, were happy to make it public.

When it came to the majority voting on whether a minority had the same rights as themselves, Prop 8 proponents were advocates of "let the public decide." When it comes to the trial itself, they don't want the public to have easy access.

So, why the sudden switch from trusting the public to demanding secrecy?

The Week in Prop 8: Prop 8 Complaint Backfires Spectacularly!

by Matt Baume
Stop8.org

Leaked footage of the Prop 8 trial sparked a legal tug of war this week, with anti-gay groups renewing efforts to keep their work out of public view. Delaware's on track to be the 8th state to offer marriage-ish protections, and activists gear up in New York.

FINALE of TWIP8, but Matt's New show starting soon,

This Week in Prop 8: Boehner's Blank Check to Anti-Gay Lawyers‏!

by Matt Baume
Stop8.org

Why did John Boehner sign up for a protracted legal fight over anti-gay laws without finding out first what it was going to cost the taxpayers? Hope is on the way for gay couples facing homelessness due to discriminatory Medicaid policies. Civil unions advance in Delaware but marriage is on the rocks in Rhode Island. And will we see Prop 8 back on the ballot in 2012?