 Election Day 2008, Californians voted in favor of Proposition 8, thus rewriting the California State Constitution to add a ban on gay marriage for citizens who are already enjoying that right. Now, two lawyers, most famous for representing the opposing sides of Bush v. Gore, have teamed up to take Proposition 8 to federal court. Mr. Boys and Mr. Olson argued in favor of broadcasting the trial live across the country. The judge, a Republican appointee, agreed, but the defendants in this case and opponents of gay marriage turned to Charles Cooper. Mr. Cooper filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was successful. The Supreme Court blocked plans to broadcast the trial, thus the nation was denied access to the testimony of plaintiffs Jeff Zorillo and Paul Katami and Sandy Steer and Chris Perry. But the transcripts of this historic trial could not be hidden. On June 16, 2010, in a federal court in San Francisco, the closing arguments of this historic case commenced. These are the words, the witnesses, the testimony in the trial that the defenders of Proposition 8 fought so hard to keep from public view. The Supreme Court has said that marriage is the most important relation in life. Now, that's being withheld from the plaintiffs. It is the foundation of society. It is essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness. It's a right of privacy older than the Bill of Rights and older than our political parties. One of the liberties protected by the due process calls a right of intimacy to the degree of being sacred. It's impossible to be completely sure about a prediction of future events, but I do have a great deal of confidence in the likelihood of the weakening of marriage through the process of deinstitutionalization. This same-sex marriage is a very recent innovation. So this is a political question and the court should abstain. Is that it? I'm asking you to tell me how it would harm opposite-sex marriages. All right. My answer is no. As you say, insofar as we are a nation founded on this principle, we would be more emphasized more American on the day we permitted same-sex marriage than we were on the day before. And you wrote those words, did you not, sir? I wrote those words. And you believe them now, correct? That's correct. On August 4, 2010, federal Judge Walker ruled unequivocally the California's gay marriage ban proposition A was unconstitutional. It was a momentous victory for gay rights supporters, but this decision was in no way the end of the fight. Those opposed to extending marriage to all Americans filed their appeals and Judge Walker's decision was stayed, pending decisions by higher courts. So tonight, like thousands of other Americans, Jeff Cirillo and Paul Katami, Sandy Steer and Chris Perry still cannot be legally wed. Their families still unrecognized and unprotected in the country they love. Hey, Mom, wait. What? What is it? I hated being here, okay? It's so stupid. You're right. You shouldn't have to be here. I'm sorry, Ellie. No, no, no. I really am. Not like that. I mean, I just... I hate that we have to be here, but I'm proud of you. That's what I mean. I mean, I love you. I love you, too.