While Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker rejected a bid by media organizations to televise the Prop 8 trial proceedings live, groups pushing for the broadcasts are somewhat consoled court-operated cameras in his courtroom will be allowed to operate for delayed release on YouTube.
And those who pushed 103,841 people to sign a letter from the Courage Campaign Institute and CREDO Action in less than 24 hours requesting the live coverage advise Walker's decision is not final, as the judge has left the public
comment period open until Friday, pending a ruling on his decision by
the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
The goal is to out-mobilize right-wing groups that have aligned against any broadcast by gathering 125,000 signatures by 9 a.m. Friday at couragecampaign.org/TeleviseTheTrial.
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Meanwhile, those who have already signed are asked to click the following and post it on their profiles:
http://bit.ly/TeleviseTheProp8Trial
“While we are pleased that the trial may be on a delayed broadcast
via YouTube at least, our call for full transparency–a televised
broadcast that network news and cable channels can pick up live, as it
happens–has not been met,” said Courage Campaign Institute chairman Rick Jacobs.
“And, it's entirely possible that the 9th Circuit Appeals Court may
overrule Judge Walker's ruling, shutting down all broadcasting–even
a delayed daily YouTube broadcast. Lawyers representing supporters of
Prop. 8 have already opposed broadcasting the trial in any form
whatsoever and are likely to fight Walker's ruling.”
The Courage
Campaign Institute is part of the Courage Campaign's online organizing
network that empowers more than 700,000 “grassroots and netroots
supporters” to push for progressive change and full equality in California and across the country. They have a page on Facebook: http://wwww.facebook.com/couragecampaign
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.