Judge To Prop 8 Backers: Turn Over The Paperwork NOW

On Friday a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the backers of Proposition 8 must immediately turn over their internal documents.

The sponsors had sought to keep the documents while challenging the order to turn them over in an appeals court. But in a ruling late Friday, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of San Francisco said backers of Proposition 8 had failed to show that disclosing internal memos and e-mails would violate their freedom of speech or subject them to harassment. He said they had refused to identify any documents that needed special protection and noted that he could order their opponents to keep any sensitive material confidential. "It simply does not appear likely that (Prop. 8's) proponents will prevail on the merits of their appeal," Walker said. He said he doubts that a federal appeals court even has jurisdiction to consider the dispute at this early stage of the case.

Those behind the push to overturn Prop 8 say the campaign was based on anti-gay bias, not the need to protect "traditional marriage." Prop 8 proponents say their motives are irrelevant.