Before the trial challenging California’s Proposition 8 began, the Supreme Court issued a temporary ban on broadcasting the proceedings on YouTube. According to the Court, the temporary ban would afford them more time to weigh the merits of allowing a full, online display of the trial. We believe that the Court should allow the trial to stream online. Continue Reading

By Tue Tran, Co-Editor-in-Chief -

The trial resumed Tuesday morning with the continuation of the testimony of Nancy Cott of Harvard University, who specializes in American marriage history. When asked by plaintiffs attorney Theodore Boutrous if a focus on procreation is important in defining marriage, Cott noted that George Washington became sterile later in life yet still got married. “Procreative ability has never been a qualification for marriage,” Cott testified, according to Mercury News.

During cross-examination, a defense lawyer, David Thompson, pressed Cott on her views of same-sex marriage and asked whether or not monogamy was a result of the teachings of Jesus. To this, Cott replied, “I know very little about Jesus Christ and his apostles.”

Next to take the stand was George Chauncey from Yale University, who is an expert on the history of discrimination against the gay and lesbian community. Chauncey spoke about the more than 100 years of discrimination against lesbians and gays, and believed that the campaigns to define marriage between a man and a woman have been a part of anti-gay movements.

Both experts expressed that they support same-sex marriage but say that their views have been shaped by their respective disciplines.

Chauncey will continue his testimony on Wednesday, and three other experts for the plaintiffs are lined up as well.

By Andrew Slade, News Editor -

For most voters in Massachusetts, statewide Congressional elections in which a Democrat is running against a Republican are not seen as the most competitive races. The state’s Congressional delegation is comprised entirely of Democrats, and the last Republican elected to the US Senate by Massachusetts voters was Edward Brooke in 1972. Continue Reading