David Boies (8/5/10)

David Boies
Attorney; Chairman, Boies, Schiller, and Flexner LLP

Challenging Law and Making History: Overturning CA's Prop 8 Gay Marriage Ban.

Boies has been deeply involved in some of the most prominent legal disputes of the past two decades. From serving as special counsel to the Justice Department in the United States v. Microsoft trial to representing Vice President Al Gore in the Bush v. Gore case following the 2000 presidential election, Boies' legal experience is extensive and varied.

Together, Boies and former Solicitor General Theodore Olson have successfully overturned California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage. The judge's ruling on the case happened just one day before this program was recorded. In a recent interview with Salon.com, Boies asserted that overturning this legislation will "improve the lives of gay and lesbian couples...it will not in any way harm heterosexual marriage." In 2010, Boies was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. Boies provides a behind-the-scenes look at the Prop. 8 case, and provide insight into what it takes to challenge the status quo and make legal history.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• commonwealth club
• prop 8
• gay marriage
• david boies
• constitution
• law

[paganspirit2]

What a principled and elegant spokesperson for civil rights!! Go David Boies.

[bbbbmer]

Thank you Mr. Boies, and Mr. Olsen, and to all those 'who went before' in this struggle for equality before the law for ALL America's citizens...

Thank you so very very much...

[northoforacle]

What a great speaker advocating for human rights. I want him on my side.

[jupiterkansas]

Who says you can't love lawyers!

[2Ken99M]

I see people keeping bringing up what the Constitution does, or does not allow in terms of gay marriage. I do not see anythere in the Constitution where it says that marriage is between men and women. If it is there, please cite.

I do not see anywhere, where it even discusses marriage. If it does, please cite.

What I do see is the right of States to make laws. I do see equal protection.

Where does this "Constitutional Right" of straight marriage exist?

[CelestialEmbodiment]

When you subscribe to situational ethics the righteousness of everything, from boiling babies to poisoning children with mercury to cluster-bombing clinics to irradiating tumors and commuters, is relative. The worms, by now, have finished with Carl Sagan as he's up to his pits in arms—face-down in a piny box...

[CelestialEmbodiment]

The vagaries of the queen's English provides for sing/sang/ sung but not shit/shat/shut.

[shilohwillcome]

@hominyboy I doubt polygamy outnumbers monogomy, but what has this to do with the definition of marriage? It's still between a man and a woman.

[hominyboy]

@shilohwillcome

Actually, in the world as a whole, monogamy, man-woman marriage is outnumbered three to one by polygamy. And that's today, right now. Even in this country, "coverture" used to create chattel of the wife. That's not true anymore. Tradition is no argument for discrimination.

[swithincharottesburg]

@shilohwillcome: Have you actually LISTENED to the video? You are arguing till you're blue in the face why you don't LIKE gay marriage, but you're not responding to the arguments in favour of gay marriage being made in the video. Mr. Boies has made a very cogent, rational argument explaining that preventing gay marriage is UNCONSTITUTIONAL.  What are your responses specifically to those arguments?