The trial is a good thing

One of the famous aspects of the California gay marriage case in Federal District Court in 2009 was that all but one the expert witnesses for the anti-gay side disappeared. Only one would agree to testify that gays and lesbians should not get married and he came close to contradicting his main point. There was some talk about the witness stand being a lonely place and a place where one cannot lie -- a direct critique that all our opponents had were lies.

So, perhaps, it is a good thing that the Michigan same-sex marriage case will go to trial, complete with witnesses, in February. According to Crystal Proxmire of Between the Lines the two sides have released their lists of witnesses. The state has four witnesses. The lesbian couple has a dozen. And a couple of them are well versed in the shoddy science and misuse of other studies that make up the anti-gay reasoning. A chance to flay their "research" in a court of law will be a an important aspect of the trial.

Appearing for the state (the BTL article has full bios):

Loren Marks wrote a study about the faults of same-sex parenting that criticize the techniques of studies that say same-sex parenting is just fine. The problems: he didn't actually read the studies he critiqued and his methodology lumped adoptive and gay parents together.

Mark Regnerus published a now-famous study that has been thoroughly debunked. The problem: he didn't study gay couples who remained together for the entire upbringing of the children.

Douglas Allen wrote a study on childhood instability. Again, he didn't study same-sex couples in long-term relationships. He criticizes a study by Michael Rosenfeld, who says his work was misused.

Joseph Price refutes the generally-accepted estimates of the number of people who are gay or lesbian.

Appearing for the family:

Dr. David Brodzinsky has studied child development, especially in areas of stress and coping. His work has included same-sex parenting, non-traditional families, and adoption.

Dr. Nancy Cott studies the institution of marriage. She will refute the state's claim that marriage is for procreation.

Dr. Gary Gates has used census data to explore characteristics of same-sex couples. He will testify that current state laws and denial of benefits leads to income discrepancies of same-sex couples and their children.

Dr. George Chauncey has been involved in several prominent legal battles over gay issues. Those included the Calif. marriage trial, the Texas sodomy trial, and the Colorado constitutional ban of gay rights.

Dr. Gregory Herek is an expert on prejudice and violence against gays and lesbians and of AIDS-related stigma.

Michael Rosenfeld will refute every aspect of the Regnerus study and tell how his own study has been misused (see above).

Jennifer Sanderson will testify on the economic burdens of same-sex couples who cannot marry.

Kathi Nelson works with an adoption agency and will talk about whether same-sex couples are fit parents.

Jane Bassett will testify about the costs we must bear to protect our relationships because the law won't.

Dr. Vivek Sankaran will testify about the burdens special needs children place on the Michigan foster care system and how second-parent adoption and same-sex parents might relieve that situation.

Luke Feltz, 23, was raised by lesbian parents. He earned a double major in Political Science and Globalization Studies. He has interned at the White House, the US House, and the Senate.

Zoe Almquist, 24, was raised by lesbian parents. She is an Assistant Field Hockey Coach at Northwestern University.

On their side, dubious (if not outright fraudulent science), only able to say gay people are bad parents. On our side, experts in science, adoption, marriage, personal finance, gay rights and legal battles, and of life experience.

Actually having both sides in the courtroom and our side able to show the bad science of their side as well as the harm the current laws inflict is an important precedent for marriage and gay rights cases around the nation. Alas, assembling all those witnesses and paying for travel might cost as much as $760,000. Follow links to the donation page.