Gay Marriage Ban Defender Asks To Be Removed From Proposition 8 Trial

An opponent of gay marriage, who has been serving as an official litigant in defending Proposition 8 which banned same sex marriage, has asked a judge to remove him from the being called as a witness at the trial believing the publicity that it generates could act to endanger both him and his family.

Being one of five people who have formally intervened to defend the state against the Proposition 8 federal lawsuit and acted as official proponents of Proposition 8, Hak-Shing William Tam put in his request on Friday after telling the court that he had been harassed and his property attacked during the campaign for the enactment of the gay marriage.

In his court filing Tam expanded on these reasons saying “In the past I have received threats on my life, had my property vandalized and am recognized on the streets due to my association with Proposition 8 …. Now that the subject lawsuit is going to trial, I fear I will get more publicity, be more recognizable and that the risk of harm to me and my family will increase.”

Hak-Shing William Tam has been a central focus in the lead up to the trial following a discovery by the lawyers acting for the two same sex couples of a letter to his church detailing what he felt the disastrous consequences of allowing gas to marry would be:

“One by one, other states would fall into Satan’s hands,” he wrote. “Every child, when growing up, would fantasize marrying someone of the same sex. More children would become homosexuals.”

Stating that the existence of letters like this proved that the Proposition 8 supporters were withholding evidence, this letter may now be used to prove that Proposition 8 was motivated by an anti-gay basis, and is likely to see Tam cross examined on it if he is not excused.