Plaintiffs in landmark case discuss same-sex marriage in California

Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, two of the plaintiffs in the landmark Hollingsworth v. Perry case which legalized same-sex marriage in California, discussed the benefits of same-sex marriage in a lecture Thursday.

The Hollingsworth v. Perry case was filed against the creators of Proposition 8, a 2008 California proposition that banned same-sex marriage.

Stier said that many experts have argued for the benefits of marriage for same-sex couples, including the psychological impact of being able to use the term “husband” and “wife.”

“The tradition of marriage really means something," she said. "The difference between a ‘husband’ or ‘wife’ and ‘domestic partner’ is actually huge, and when you don’t have access to that word, it’s an important social experience for people and an important aspect of a person’s psychological well-being.”

Perry, who worked for the federal government in early childhood education, also noted that Proposition 8 prevented Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendercitizens from reaching their full potential in quite the same way that not having quality education prevents children from growing up to reach their full potential.

“The reason that the two seem highly aligned in my mind is letting children grow up to reach their full potential … As an early childhood advocate, I believe that there are similar limitations placed on children that bar them from receiving a quality education. Without that, it’s very hard to reach your potential,” Perry said. “One of the reasons I think I’ve worked in both [issues] and working with people who care about both [issues], is because we see that the future really is in children having access to a high quality early education,”

Perry added that bipartisan involvement is very important in issues like LGBT rights and early childhood education.

The couple explained they didn’t actively seek to strike down Proposition 8. They explained that actor Rob Reiner asked them to participate in a campaign against Proposition 8, and they initially agreed to this engagement thinking that they would be passive components of the case. However, as they went into the case, they found that they would be more active in the case than they thought they would be, Perry explained.

“The first thing we did, of course, was to talk to each other and decide what we thought it might be and how big a part of our lives it might become. We thought it would be a summary judgement issue,” Perry said."However, [in] the second court appearance we went to, Judge Walker, chief trial judge in San Francisco, said he wanted a full trial and a full representation of the facts … That’s where we became front row participants."

The legal battle was challenging on the couple and their children, Perry noted. It took over four years, with many days spent in court testifying and many days spent waiting to hear rulings.

“We were getting older and more tired,” Perry said. “In a weird way, everything was changing but we still weren’t getting married, because there was a stay after the other side would appeal.”

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Perry said that media and art could be used an effective means to inform and persuade the public. The couple noted the recent dramatizations and documentaries about case, including HBO documentary “The Case Against 8” and a play titled “8.” The documentary won awards at Sundance Film Festival, and the play featured many famous actors, including George Clooney and Jamie Lee Curtis.

“What’s really great about a civil rights case or a social change issue is there’s sort of a tipping point moment in this simultaneous effort of the court strategy, legal strategy and the public opinion strategy,” Perry said."Now, this is really effective on the public opinion side … The whole world wants to watch [famous actors and actresses do it], so Google donated a whole live stream production of the L.A. premiere and … millions of people watched it live that night."

The lecture, titled “Citizen Activism and the Battle Against Prop 8,” took place in Whig Hall Senate Chamber on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The event was arranged by the American Whig-Cliosophic Society and was sponsored by the LGBT Center.