101 reasons to love historians
One of the reasons I love historians (or at least the cool ones)/being one:
Historians Take Stand To Explain The Origins Of Marriage
Today, expert testimony begins in Perry v. Schwarzenegger - the trial to overturn Proposition 8 in California, and two historians - one specializing in marriage, the other in gay rights - are preparing to take the stand.
[...]
Nancy Cott, a U.S. history professor at Harvard and the author of a book on marriage as a public institution, is scheduled to take the witness stand for a second day. Cott, a witness appearing on behalf of two gay couples who are suing to overturn Proposition 8, on Monday disputed assertions made by the measure's sponsors during the 2008 campaign that cultures around the world always have recognized marriage only as a union of a man and a woman.
"To think of marriage as universal, the same around the globe, simply is not accurate," Cott said, explaining that America's founders knew that group marriages were common in other societies and among some Native American tribes. "The Bible is a document with characters that are practicing polygamy, which is the case with ancient civilizations."
After Cott is cross-examined by lawyers for Proposition 8's backers, who are defending the voter-approved initiative in court, Yale history professor George Chauncey is expected to testify about anti-gay bias. Chauncey also was an expert witness in a landmark gay rights case that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court invalidating a 1992 Colorado law that sought to prevent cities from extending civil rights protections to gays.
Chauncey's testimony will also be vital as the supporters of Proposition 8 will need to prove that there is a reason outside of bigotry to deny same sex couples the right to marry. Since the Supreme Court has already ruled that laws motivated by bigotry are unconstitutional, the onus is on Cooper to find a justification that would avoid allegations of bigotry.
Oh hell yeah!
Historians Take Stand To Explain The Origins Of Marriage
Today, expert testimony begins in Perry v. Schwarzenegger - the trial to overturn Proposition 8 in California, and two historians - one specializing in marriage, the other in gay rights - are preparing to take the stand.
[...]
Nancy Cott, a U.S. history professor at Harvard and the author of a book on marriage as a public institution, is scheduled to take the witness stand for a second day. Cott, a witness appearing on behalf of two gay couples who are suing to overturn Proposition 8, on Monday disputed assertions made by the measure's sponsors during the 2008 campaign that cultures around the world always have recognized marriage only as a union of a man and a woman.
"To think of marriage as universal, the same around the globe, simply is not accurate," Cott said, explaining that America's founders knew that group marriages were common in other societies and among some Native American tribes. "The Bible is a document with characters that are practicing polygamy, which is the case with ancient civilizations."
After Cott is cross-examined by lawyers for Proposition 8's backers, who are defending the voter-approved initiative in court, Yale history professor George Chauncey is expected to testify about anti-gay bias. Chauncey also was an expert witness in a landmark gay rights case that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court invalidating a 1992 Colorado law that sought to prevent cities from extending civil rights protections to gays.
Chauncey's testimony will also be vital as the supporters of Proposition 8 will need to prove that there is a reason outside of bigotry to deny same sex couples the right to marry. Since the Supreme Court has already ruled that laws motivated by bigotry are unconstitutional, the onus is on Cooper to find a justification that would avoid allegations of bigotry.
Oh hell yeah!