Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al

Filing 54

Declaration of Mollie M. Lee in Support of #53 Amicus Curiae Appearance filed byCity and County of San Francisco. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit A - J)(Related document(s) #53 ) (Van Aken, Christine) (Filed on 6/18/2009)

Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al

Doc. 54

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DENNIS J. HERRERA, State Bar #139669 City Attorney THERESE M. STEWART, State Bar #104930 Chief Deputy City Attorney DANNY CHOU, State Bar #180240 Chief of Complex and Special Litigation CHRISTINE VAN AKEN, State Bar #241755 Deputy City Attorney MOLLIE M. LEE,* State Bar #251404 Deputy City Attorney City Hall, Room 234 One Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place San Francisco, California 94102-4682 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] Attorneys for Amicus Curiae CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA KRISTIN M. PERRY, SANDRA B. STIER, PAUL T. KATAMI, and JEFFREY J. ZARRILLO, Plaintiffs, vs. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, in his official capacity as Governor of California; EDMUND G. BROWN JR., in his official capacity as Attorney General of California; MARK B. HORTON, in his official capacity as Director of the California Department of Public Health and State Registrar of Vital Statistics; LINETTE SCOTT, in her official capacity as Deputy Director of Health Information & Strategic Planning for the California Department of Public Health; PATRICK O'CONNELL, in his official capacity as Clerk-Recorder for the County of Alameda; and DEAN C. LOGAN, in his official capacity as Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk for the County of Los Angeles, Defendants.
* Admission to the Northern District of California pending. BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE SAN FRANCISCO CASE NO. 09-CV-2292 VRW
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Case No. 09-CV-2292 VRW DECLARATION OF MOLLIE M. LEE IN SUPPORT OF BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION Hearing Date: Time: Place: Trial Date: July 2, 2009 10:00 a.m. Courtroom 6, 17th Fl., 450 Golden Gate Ave. Not set

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I, Mollie M. Lee, declare as follows: 1. I am an attorney at law licensed to practice in the State of California. I am an attorney

at the Office of the San Francisco City Attorney. My admission to the bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California is pending. I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth in this declaration, and if called as a witness, I can and would testify competently thereto. 2. This declaration is made in support of the Brief of Amicus Curiae City and County of

San Francisco in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. 3. A true and correct copy of the Declaration of George Chauncey In Support of City and

County of San Francisco's Constitutional Challenge to Marriage Statutes, filed September 2, 2004 in In re Marriage Cases, Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 4365, is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 4. A true and correct copy of Lisa Mincieli, et al., "The Relationship Context of Births

Outside Marriage: The Rise of Cohabitation," Child Trends Research Brief (May 2007), available at http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2007_05_14_RB_OutsideBirths.pdf, is attached hereto as Exhibit B. 5. A true and correct copy of the ballot arguments regarding Proposition 8 printed in the

California Secretary of State's Official Voter Information Guide for the November 4, 2008 California General Election, and available on-line at http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/past/2008/general/, is attached hereto as Exhibit C. 6. The articles and reader comments listed and quoted below and attached hereto as

Exhibits D ­ J are true and correct copies of articles and comments that I accessed on-line on June 17, 2009, each of which documents animus or moral disapproval of gays and lesbians arising during the campaign for Proposition 8: Exhibit D: John Blackstone, "Passions, Budgets Sky-High over Prop. 8," CBS News, October 31, 2008, available at http://www.cbsnews.com/8601-100_162-45594761.html?assetTypeId=30&tag=contentMain;contentBody (reader comment by ybotheratall 10/31/08 @ 12:14 p.m.) ("I do NOT want my children exposed to the filthy world of homosexuality. My children learning about natural relationships (heterosexual relationships only of course) is something that they NEED to know. Finding out that two men like to insert things into where the other defecates is not something I want my 1
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children to learn. I want them to learn that there is something very wrong with the brains of g.a.y.s and that therapy and medication, just like any other brain disorder, is what is needed, not acceptance.") Rogelio Labrador, Letter to Editor, "Vote Yes on Proposition 8," North County Times Nov. 2, 2008, available at http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/11/02/opinion/letters/z606adcfe5f94a998882574 f1006218b7.txt ("We cannot teach our children about gays and lesbians because there cannot be a mother and a mother or a father and a father. We will be torturing and/or misleading our children.") Bruce Lieberman, "School Board Kills Proposal to Back Prop. 8," San Diego Union Tribune, Oct. 18, 2008, available at http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20081018/news_1mc18prop8.html (Speaking in support of the Vista Unified School District Board President Jim Gibson's resolution to endorse Prop. 8, "San Marcos resident Joseph Andrews said 'homosexuality is not normal" and "we do not accept what they do is normal, nor do we want our school district to teach that it is normal.") OC Register, Rancho voices opinions on Proposition 8 (Oct. 24, 2008) available at http://www.ocregister.com/articles/proposition-rights-marriage-2205320-sexprop?orderby=TimeStampDescending&showRecommendedOnly=0&oncommentsPage =2#slComments ("[T]he concern is not that it will make the kids gay, it is that it will teach innocent mind that practicing homosexuality is okay when it isn't. Please can anyone tell me why Sodom and Gomorroh was destroyed for practicing homosexuality, but our nation will not be judged for the very same thing?") Asian Group Rallies for Traditional Marriage, Union Tribune Newsblog, Oct. 19, 2008, available at http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/news/breaking/2008/10/asian_group_rally_for_tradit io.html. This news story reports Catholic Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Diego as supporting Propositions 8 because he perceived that gay marriage would "destroy[] the integrity of family life," and that this was a "philosophically intrinsic evil[] . . . ." "Hate Crime Charged in Prop. 8 Sign Attack," San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 29, 2008, available at http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/10/29/state/n064853D35.DTL&feed=rss.news ("A Torrance man has been charged with a felony hate crime assault for allegedly using an anti-gay marriage 'Yes on Prop. 8' lawn sign to attack a gay man wearing a 'No on 8' button...[He] allegedly used the 'Yes on Prop. 8' lawn sign to knock down the victim, who was then punched and choked while [the attacker] allegedly uttered a homosexual slur.") Peter Hecht and Susan Ferriss, "Prop. 4, 8 campaigns battle fiercely for crucial Latino vote," Sacramento Bee, Oct. 26, 2008 (reader comment by menotyoutoo, 10/16/08 @ 5:55 a.m.), available at http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/1344048.html?pageNum=7&&mi_pl uck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container ("Homosexual "marriage" is not about 2
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rights - it's about making their immorality acceptable. Look back at our country's history and you'll find that in some states homosexuals received the death penalty. This is not "homophobic" but a rational [sic] based upon morality."). The websites listed below are websites that I accessed on June 17 or 18, 2009, each of

which contained on that date the video footage or text quoted and described below: Protectmarriage.com · First Yes on 8 TV ad: Whether You Like It Or Not, ProtectMarriage.com (Sept. 29, 2008), available at http://www.protectmarriage.com/video/view/2, ("Four judges ignored 4 million voters and imposed same-sex marriage on California. It's no longer about tolerance. Acceptance of gay marriage is now mandatory. . . We don't have to accept this. Yes on 8.") Robb and Robin Wirthlin's Story, ProtectMarriage.com (Oct. 20, 2008), available at http://www.protectmarriage.com/video/view/6, ("Protect marriage, protect children," "Some of the most profound consequences, are for children.") Everything to do with Schools, ProtectMarriage.com (Oct. 24, 2008), available at http://www.protectmarriage.com/video/view/7, ("Gay marriage will be taught in our schools, unless we vote yes on Proposition 8.") Why Proposition 8, ProtectMarriage.com, available at http://www.protectmarriage.com/about/why ("schools will now be required to teach students that gay marriage is the same as traditional marriage, starting with kindergartners") Questions & Answers About Proposition 8, ProtectMarriage.com, available at http://protectmarriage.com/files/faq.pdf ("[Proposition 8] protects our children from being taught in public schools that "same-sex marriage" is the same as traditional marriage.")

http://www.youtube.com · GOD HATES FAGS!!! (YouTube 2008, posted June 16, 2008), available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEQuW2v6U2o. This video shows protestors at the San Francisco Civic Center holding signs that state: "HOMO SEX IS A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY," "THE BIBLE SAYS: 'THOU SHALT NOT LIE WITH A MAN AS WITH A WOMAN; IT IS AN ABOMINATION.' LEV. 18:22," "FAGS WED," "DYKES WED," "GOD IS YOUR ENEMY," AND "GOD HATES FAG ENABLERS." A woman shouts that homosexuals are "feces-eating brute beasts," "God hates you," "Fags are worthy of death," and "God hates fags." In response to the question, "Do you think gay people should be put to death?" she says yes, because it is "the standard of God." A man says that he "loves these people," after calling them "perverts," and stating that they do "not a healthy lifestyle," but rather a "filthy lifestyle" that will "doom" them. 3
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·

Yes on Proposition 8 Supporters Share Views - Santa Clarita Ca - Join the Impact (YouTube 2008, posted October 23, 2008), available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtcZnLXhiJo. This video shows interviews at a Yes on 8 rally in Santa Clarita. One interviewee states that if Prop 8 does not pass her children will be "taught that this is a normal thing that's OK, and that's not what we believe. God did not intend people to be with people of the same sex."

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Dated: June 18, 2009 DENNIS J. HERRERA City Attorney THERESE M. STEWART Chief Deputy City Attorney DANNY CHOU Chief of Complex & Special Litigation CHRISTINE VAN AKEN MOLLIE M. LEE Deputy City Attorneys By: /s/ MOLLY M. LEE Attorneys for Amicus Curiae CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO

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